Charmed Collision
by brownxps
Summary: Demona is forced to accept the help of a human, but she instead finds someone to confide in, someone she can trust. A love begins to blossom, how will it play out? The story takes place shortly after the events of season three of the animated series. Rated M for sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

**I want to give a very special thank you to my Beta "London Bai" who has and is currently helping me refine the story chapter by chapter to what it will eventually be as the finished product, so thank you very much!**

**Thank you to everyone who has and will take the time to read my story.**

**I would like to invite everyone to give me your thoughts as honest as possible as the story progress's.**

* * *

The annoying buzzing sound of the fifteen after five morning alarm rang through his lethargic mind. Swiftly tapping the button to silence the noise, Brandon pulled opened his eyes and crawled out of his warm bed. Brandon let out low groan as he stretched.

"Another day, another workout. Right, Snuggles?" Snuggles was his standoffish tabby cat. He thought the name would be ironically funny since she didn't even cuddle. She just seemed to tolerate him more than anything with a you-feed-me-and-I-give-you-affection kind of deal. The tabby just laid there glaring at Brandon as if annoyed that he had awakened her. He stumbled out of his bedroom down the shadowed hall towards the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"Ahh, there you are my putrid drink." Awaiting him was a protein shake he made last night and a fresh banana laying beside it. He grabbed both items before walking back into his dimly lit bedroom to get his gym bag and clothes. Giving a look of distaste at the thick drink, he chugged the shake down.

"Yup, still tastes like shit even though I switched to the berry flavor." He gagged as he peeled back the banana to replace the after taste of the shake with a sweeter flavor.

He tied up his sneakers and stepped into his bathroom to quickly splash some water on his face and hair. Looking like a million bucks wasn't really a deep concern for Brandon in the early hours of the morning; he worked out from six to eight at the local gym near his neighborhood in Manhattan. When he takes a shower at the gym, he then gets ready for the rest of his day.

"Okay, Snuggles, I will see you later," he said while taking up his gym bag and locking the door firmly behind him.

Being a discharged First Lieutenant from the Army, he had gotten used to rising quite early and getting the day started. He kept his three-day on/one-day off workout schedule that he was used to over the years. Always one to keep his mind on the task at hand, he finished his grueling workout right at eight. Setting the free weights back into the rack, he started to walk to the showers in the same direction as the treadmills when he overheard one of the televisions a sprinting someone was listening to. The reporter on the screen was going on about more gargoyle sightings and if the creatures meant humans harm, why were they here and what not.

_'Why did that even matter?'_ Brandon thought to himself. _'The gargoyles never seemed to of caused too much trouble, only the random sighting.' _It didn't bother him if gargoyles were real or not. The way he figured, if they were real and _wanted_ to harm anyone, they would have done so already. He thought that the people who had become so fascinated yet jumped to the horrible assumption of danger were just fickle.

After his well-earned shower, he dressed in the fresh clothing he had packed in his bag and sauntered out to his parked 1971 Mustang Mach 1 and gave a small dejected sigh as he took note of the darkening sky.

"Every time, just like clockwork." Brandon hissed. He had just washed his car the day before and the weather always seemed to cloud up and rain shortly. "I really need to start checking the weather reports before I wash my damn car." He said, slightly irritated.

Popping the trunk of the vehicle, he threw his gym bag inside, climbed into the driver's seat, and pulled out of the busy parking lot towards his apartment. On the way home, he turned on the radio to one of the local news stations, they were talking about the gargoyles and these packs of hunters who called themselves the Quarrymen. Just last month, the police had put the leader of those gargoyle hunters under arrest for endangering the lives of hundreds of people on a train while trying to destroy the gargoyles, but it seemed that the smaller rogue groups kept up the fighting. One side of the radio speakers were arguing for the hunters and the other for the gargoyles.

"What a shame." Brandon said to no one. "Why can't people just leave things well enough alone?" He felt bothered that some citizens had taken to hunting gargoyles for a sick sport.

"Just because gargoyles are different, doesn't mean we had a right to kill them. What if they were intelligent? Until they actually posed a threat, we don't have any right to do that.'' A speaker announced.

Brandon shut the radio off, continuing his drive home in silence save for the loud loping of the engine. Pulling up to his tall, aged apartment building, the rain had started up; he promptly gathered his bag from the trunk and quickly ran inside of his building, up the many flights of stairs, and to his dark brown woodendoor. His apartment was on the top floor of the building. Rather than take the elevator up twenty floors, he preferred to use the stairs. Once inside, everything he owned had its particular place. The keys went over here, the bag went under there, he even had a shoe and coat rack. The lodging overall was very neat and tidy aside from the random cat toys. The space wasn't too large but it was perfect enough for him.

The reason he chose this place was because of the decent size of the master bedroom and bathroom as it was his only stipulation. The apartment also came with a big balcony overlooking the city and its wonders, so that was a plus. Adorning the walls of his home were various works of art that he had articulately painted over the years. Upon being discharged from the Army, he had taken up painting because someone said that it would ease the pain and help him readjust to the life of the happy ignorant everyday American. Just inside the living room, he had several shelves on either side of the television that housed all his various medals and certificates he had dutifully earned during his service. He was proud of his accomplishments, even if they _did_ remind him of some pretty harsh times. Just on the other side of the living room were sliding glass French doors that led out to his balcony; he would stand out there quite often and look out for aesthetic inspiration and peace of mind.

"Almost nine." He stated as it was time to cook breakfast.

"Meeeooow." His cat voiced knowingly.

"Yes I know; you're hungry too."

Brandon pressed the button to his answering machine on his way to the kitchen, seeing that the device's red light was steadily blinking and quietly listened to the message as he began to prepare his food. Much to his disappointment, the message had been from his landlord about the high importance of not being late with his rent again for this month. Brandon wasn't usually late with any payments, but getting back on his feet after being discharged wasn't easy and trying to sell his paintings wasn't going well either.

"I hope something comes along soon or I will be on the street." He sighed woefully.

* * *

It was just past seven later that evening, interrupting the calm yet cloudy night sky was the sound of high energy laser weapons. A pack of three Quarrymen were in pursuit of a gargoyle they had seen glide past their hiding spot moments earlier. These hunters normally carried electronically powered hammers to easily crush any sleeping gargoyles they found, but when in the pursuit of one with their jet packs strapped on, they found that using stolen firearms from Xanatos Enterprises was more effective when eliminating their target. The gargoyle ducked in between buildings, quickly catching air currents to propel herself higher, trying to elude the hunters. A loud growl let loose from the gargoyle.

"Curse these damned humans. If only I was not so far from my home!" The dense clouds had opened up, letting lose a dreary rainfall. The frigid air made the rain feel like bits of sharp ice slamming against the gargoyle's tough skin. "Great..." She said in profound annoyance, "...what a night to get chased by these fools!"

The hunters were undertaking a studious effort to keep near to their unfortunate quarry. The she-garg knew that she couldn't make it back to her own safe haven in fear that they would, in turn, attack her there. She realized, at that moment, that she has no choice but to seek a temporary place to stay secure and dry.

"You can run! But you cannot hide, you cursed gargoyle!" One of the hunters shouted.

The gargoyle caught an air current and zipped high up into the night sky then back down in a darting motion to pick up enough speed to put some distance between her and her aggressors. She had to find somewhere to hide.

_'As useful as _my_ alternative would be...'_ She thought, sneering at the scum. _'...if they believe for _one_ moment that they're superior to a mighty race that could _easily_ crush them, I would if I could have _my_ way.' _With the speed she had picked up, she was able to dart and weave through the buildings until her eyes found a suitable hiding place.

The gargoyle made a quick break for a balcony that had caught her eye; it had several potted trees on it and an umbrella which would make for a good hiding spot and if nothing else could keep the rain off. She landed on the balcony a little harder than she anticipated, but quickly hid behind the potted plants. She caped her wings around herself to make her profile smaller and blend into the shadows, keeping an open eye for the hunters to pass. The three Quarrymen flew by the balcony, probing the area, shouting obscene things in attempt to lure out their prey.

"If only you had not caught me off guard, I would have _destroyed_ you all," She hissed under her breath. The Quarrymen flew by again searching all around; as determined to find her as she was _not_ to be found.

_'Perhaps this was not such a good hiding spot after all.'_ She berated herself.

* * *

Brandon was working on a small abstract painting when he had heard a loud thud from outside his balcony, loud enough to scare his cat into hiding under the bed, shivering, and her blue colored eyes calling out for a snuggle, which he knew from experience was quite the death sentence for her.

"Hmm... it sounded like something collapsed." He pondered aloud. "Just great, something most likely fell from the roof and broke my table and umbrella."

It was raining pretty hard with the wind whipping harshly around the old buildings of the city, so his assumption was possible. He walked to the French doors, whisked opened the drapes, and slid the sticky doors open, flicking the light switch up to peer outside in hope to see what caused the ruckus. He noticed something quickly crouch down behind the plants he had. Whatever it was, it seemed startled by his presence. He looked a little closer, gasping as lightning flashed across the night sky to reveal what was hiding. It had dark red hair, fair blue skin, and black wings wrapped around her.

There had been countless reports about them. All of the sightings, several hoaxes, and a hell of a lot of other things; but never before, even for single time, had one entered his reality. Whether he wanted to or not, there was no question that the thing before him was a gargoyle. Those eyes... they burned sinisterly crimson as a low growl came from behind the plants until the creature... _she_ stood and flared her wings intimidatingly.

"Hey, hey! I am not going to hurt you!" Brandon said quickly, trying to not provoke an attack. "I just heard a loud noise and checked it out. You don't need to get angry, I won't attack you." He gently coaxed with a slight chuckle trying to ease the she-garg's noticeable anger.

"_I_ am not scared of you, _human_. And I am certainly not afraid of you attacking me either.'' She sneered at the thought, flashing her fangs with the gesture. ''I was hiding as those being _chased_ normally do," She informed, interrogatively eying the human.

He stared in utter disbelief for a few moments, wondering how anyone could even _attempt_ to chase the being before him, before remembering that those hunters did exist with ferocity in their misguided hatred.

"Hunters!? I heard news reports about them hunting down your kind."

The gargoyle stood motionless, just glaring at Brandon. Both the gargoyle and Brandon suddenly heard a distant yell of one of the hunters seeming to get closer.

Noticing the gargoyle tense up, he quickly spoke. "Hurry! Come inside. It would be safer and dryer inside rather than out here, don't you think?" Waving her inside, Brandon felt as if that moment was a scene playing out like an odd TV show; as impromptu as the whole thing was.

Snarling a bit, the she-garg thought it was in her best interest to do reluctantly accepted the offer. She could easily dispatch a single human if need be, but three armed hunters were a different problem. Besides, the hunters wouldn't look inside an average human home for their 'prey'.

Brandon let the gargoyle inside, throwing the sliding glass doors shut, followed by the drapes behind them. Turning to the gargoyle, he detected that she didn't appear how he would have expected a gargoyle to look. She had red hair just reaching the small of her back, the color contrasted by her light blue skin. She didn't exactly seem all that frightening up close in the light. The gargoyle looked around the tidy apartment with a little disgust planted on her face as she caped her wings around her once more.

'I'm in a _human_'s home.' She reminded herself, in case she was likely to have forgotten what with curiosity conflicting with her disgust, although the latter was the ruling emotion.

Brandon walked around the side of her, quietly noticing the look on her face.

"I know it's not the nicest place in the world, but it's safe at least right?" He said with a smile. The gargoyle just gave a blank stare at him, not saying a word. "I'm Brandon. Brandon Brown." He tried introduced himself hoping to wheedle her into some friendly conversation to ease the tension in the atmosphere. She looked at him strangely for a moment.

"Demona." She finally said after a lengthy pause that threatened to swallow the very ground they stood upon if not interrupted.

"That's your name?" Brandon says curiously.

"Yes, what of it!?" Demona angrily snapped.

"No, no.. nothing.. I just.. it's a nice name." He said, not sure exactly how to respond, although he knew that saying 'nice name' wasn't exactly how most people would have put it – actually, most people would have left any semblance of a humane conversation with a scream.

Demona glanced at the human, then walked past him while looking around the abode.

"Please, have a seat if you would like." Brandon pointed in the obvious direction of the dining room table.

"I will stand." Demona said firmly.

"You might end up being here for a while." He said, giving another small smile.

With a somewhat annoyed look on her face, Demona walked towards a wooden dining chair.

_Squeak!_ Both Brandon and Demona looked down to see she had stepped on one of the many squeaky cat toys that were laying about.

Demona incredulously looked back to Brandon. "Yours?"

"Haha, no, no... That is Snuggles toy. She's my cat."

Demona raised an eyebrow obviously wondering about the name he had given to his cat.

He felt that he should change the awkward subject. "Why do those hunters chase your kind the way that they do? What could drive them so intently to destroy you?" He asked while they sat across from one another, the table acting as a neutral zone.

She looked at him momentarily before looking down and tightly clasped her talons together. "Because they can." Her voice devoid of emotion, her eyes firm and cold. "They hunt us because they can... and because they are ignorant. My kind has done nothing to them except breathe and yet they still pursue our deaths…'' Demona said, suddenly seeming dismayed and angry at her situation, reminding herself why the humans were lower than her, and yet she was sitting and talking with one as if the injustices of his people were gone. Whilst they were not, she had to pretend for the moment, for her safety if nothing else, however much it irked her.

Brandon turned his focus to her indifferent eyes, "Well, at least a few people live in this world who don't hate your kind." He said with a soft smile, trying to make her feel better.

A grumbling, gargling noise came from Demona's stomach that moment to which they both nearly gawked at each other.

"Hungry, I take it?" Brandon said as a slight redness crawled over Demona's cheeks. She _was_ hungry and didn't get a chance to eat before being chased by the Quarrymen.

"I'm fine." She blurted out quickly and stubbornly. There was no way that she would to accept food from a human, despite what her stomach was begging of her.

"Well, look... there is a great Chinese takeout place just outside of my building. I can grab some if you like."

Demona looked at the human with a scowl on her face. "I said that I am fine human!"

A quick shiver rushed through Demona's very wet and cold body from the harsh weather still brewing violently outside, her hair stuck to her forehead and her clothes hung, heavy with rain. She crossed her arms to try to warm herself, still as sodden from the rain as ever.

"Tell you what..." Brandon started. "...you're cold, you're wet, and you're hungry. Why don't you make yourself at home for now. The bedroom is down the hall to the right and the bathroom is just inside. I'll lay out a set of towels for you and you can take a hot shower and warm yourself if you would like.''

That was precisely the moment that the mute switch of his common sense had shut off and he could hear its faint whispers telling, warning him that he was, in fact, incredibly insane, and that he had done more than enough for the creature. She didn't seem a threat. All she had done was voice discomfort, and he would have in that situation, too. Besides, he couldn't just leave her there to lose a battle between her feeble attempts to warm herself and the clingy cold of the undesirable rain.

_'If she was a normal human being,'_ His senses began to reason, but he let the thought trail off. It would have been admirable to show hospitality, but the thing before him was in fact a gargoyle, unmistakable for a non-human, and he was certifiable. As he saw her shiver once again, the mute button went back on again, swearing that one day it would take its revenge, as if it were unaware that it had no physical existence.

Demona laughed at the suggestion. "Oh_ please_. I will not just make myself at home, _human_!" She scorned, rolling her eyes at the very idea the human presented.

"Okay but, you might as well take up the 'suggestion' seeing as those hunters may still be slinking around just outside and you are liable to catch a cold."

Demona snickered at the thought. "Ha! I don't get sick, unless it is of your endless nuisance.''

A small frown fell over Brandon's face at that remark. Brushing the human jabs aside, he put on a gentle smile. "The offer firmly stands, if you want it. And you can stay through the night if needed. I _am_ going to pick up that takeout though."

With that being said, he took out a spare set of towels from the hallway closet and laid them on the bathroom sink for when she needed them. She was still sitting at the dining room table observing him lightly move about while she was brooding about her current situation.

"I'll be back in a bit and the towels are in the bathroom." Brandon informed as he walked past Demona with a smile and left the warm apartment with his wallet and keys tucked in his jean pockets.

Demona carefully and silently watched the human leave. "What am I doing here!?" She said aloud." I have stooped so low as to take refuge in a _humans'_ living quarters! Stay the night he says!?" Still, the thought of being chased down by the Quarrymen was a much worse scenario, so she accepted her situation for the moment and rose from her uncomfortable chair.

She decided to look around at the human's belongings. Her eyes caught the sight of several items across from her. "Hmm, military... Special Forces..." She had read on a few of the plaques on the shelves.

She picked up a box containing several medals and examined them closely. Expert marksman with both rifles and pistols he had earned several times as well as expert in hand-to-hand combat. She also noticed he possessed a purple heart for being injured while on mission to rescue hostages.

He seemed above the average human in manners and niceties, but he was still a human, nonetheless. _'And one who could prove deadly.'_ She thought to herself as she placed the box down and noticed the paintings hung throughout his apartment.

_'Tasteful.' _She noted as she turned to the backside of the living room. It was the highest form of compliment she could give to a human without losing all sense of self. There sat two easels with fresh canvases on them both and to what looked like a freshly painted picture on the ground next to them.

"Did he paint all of these himself?" She wondered.

She examined a few of the paintings and noticed they all had titles written at the bottom, a simple one- or two-word title that described the picture perfectly. Demona walked back over to the balcony and slid the drapes open looking for any sign of the hunters, maybe she would just leave if she thought it was safe.

Another shiver wreaked through Demona's body. Sure, she couldn't get sick, but she was still cold and wet, and it was still raining pretty hard outside. She growled, slightly peeved and walked down the hall to the right where his bedroom and bathroom would be. Demona ran her talons along the wall to find the light switch. She turned the lights on and looked around his bedroom seeing that it was clean; everything was in order and there was not even a wrinkle on his bed sheets. She had always called them dirty, filthy humans, but this one seemed to have a grasp of hygiene and decency.

Looking to the right, she saw the bathroom door cracked open so she walked over and gently pushed the door open. A big grin washed over her face as she saw the shower area; it was a nice an open walk-in shower, large enough for her to somewhat spread her wings. It had nice blue tile walls with crisp white caulking, with what appeared as marble flooring. The stone was cool to her feet unlike the wooden flooring throughout the rest of the apartment.

"Well, at least it isn't cramped." She said to herself. She took notice of the soap and shampoo rack as she turned the shower nob towards the hot setting. "Hmm, I suppose a shower would do me some good." Demona said as she closed the bathroom door slightly. "Well,well." She took notice of a familiar shampoo bottle. It was astonishingly the same brand and type that she used back at her own domain.

As the water began to heat up, she turned to the large full size mirror in the bathroom to the side of the counter. Her reflection stared at her when she sighed; why on Earth was she there of all places, taking shelter.

_'If it entailed a shower, the questions would simply have to wait.'_ She told herself, removing her top. It was so wet that it wasn't hiding much of the she-garg's bust. _'The human most likely got an eye full.'_ The top basically peeled off from her damp skin.

She, then, unbuckled the clasp to the belt that held her loincloth in place and let it fall to the floor around her feet with a heavy plop. She stepped out of the damp clothing, picking them up she placed them over the towel rack to let them dry. Bending down, she removed her anklet, then her armlet and earrings. Lastly she removed the tiara that always adorned her head and carefully placed them on the counter-top.

Opening the glass door to the shower, Demona stepped into the steamy hot water and was immediately relieved, delightfully feeling her muscles being soothed. She was able to relax for the first time that evening, to indulge in glorious warmth whilst questions could wait, as stubborn as they were.

While she showered, plaguing thoughts of the human entered her mind. _'Why was he so hospitable?'_ She pondered. _'He trusted me with staying in his apartment while he left, not to mention that he trusted me to come inside at all.'_ Gargoyles were often portrayed as the monsters that would come from under one's bed, and while that was true if they had a grudge, they could care very little for human matters. This human didn't seem to believe the common picture, and at least she was a little thankful for that…

She sighed again, wondering how a peaceful shower had given way to another onslaught of questions, before realizing: that was a question, and that to make peace with them, she would _have_ to acknowledge them.

_'What's his game?'_ She wondered while letting the hot water run over her hair and down her back. The shower was large enough for her to spread her wings out to clean them. She picked up the familiar bottle of shampoo - it was her favorite scent, apple. Demona smirked as she ran her talons through her hair as she let the world around her fall away from the grasps of her mind. The hunters, the warm water, the strangely comfortable apartment, the human all gently slipped away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is chapter 2 of my story, I hope everyone enjoys it.**

**Special thanks to my beta "London Bai" for editing it!**

* * *

About forty-five minutes had passed since Brandon left to get the Chinese food for there had been a large lineup which was not uncommon, but tonight it annoyed him more than usual since he had company. Finally, after what seemed to take forever, he was able to get his order and briskly walk back across the street to his building.

Demona stepped out of the shower just as Brandon returned looking around his apartment while putting the food on the kitchen counter top. Nothing was remotely disturbed and all was dead quiet, then he noticed that the balcony drapes were open. Calling out for Demona seemed futile since he thought she had decided to leave.

He deeply sighed. "Well, that is a bit disappointing. She was kind of pretty, too."

Looking at his watch, which read eight fifteen in the evening, he decided that it was time for him to take a shower. So he placed the boxed food into the fridge for the time being since it was obvious he wasn't having company.

"I guess I'll just eat after my shower, then hit the sack."

Unbeknownst to him, Demona was in the bathroom drying herself off with the towels the human had laid out for her. Brandon started to unbutton his shirt as he walked into his bedroom and discarded it onto the bed while walking towards the bathroom, still somewhat disappointed that his guest had just up and left.

"She could have at least waited and said goodbye," he mumbled as he brushed open the slightly shut bathroom door.

He was frozen stiff in the doorway to the bathroom as he saw something he couldn't believe: a completely nude Demona staring back at him. His jaw nearly hit the floorboards as Demona was just standing there looking back at him. She had been fluffing her hair with the towel when he had walked in and he couldn't help but just stare at her lithe body as he failed to make comprehensible words. Sure, she was a gargoyle, but she really wasn't at all that he was expecting. He thought her quite beautiful from her light blue skin tone to the curves of her toned, muscular, yet voluptuous body. His eyes glanced from her perky breasts with the dark blue nipples, down her flat stomach to a neatly trimmed mound of red curls.

After Demona came to her own senses, she hissed at him angrily, noticing where his eyes rested. Brandon realized that he was rudely staring at her and averted his eyes quickly while going into full apology mode. He started back peddling out of the bathroom repeating almost in a mantra, "Sorry, sorry!" He bumbled into his living room with a look of utmost shock while eerie thoughts of Demona skinning him alive for what he had just seen unnerved him.

Demona, still standing in the bathroom, quickly wrapped herself tautly in the towel and slammed the door completely shut.

"Stupid human!" She yelled out, loud enough for Brandon to hear the disdain in her voice.

Growling lowly, she thought to herself, _'I am going to kill him.'_ But then, she wondered why hadn't she _immediately_ shut the door or yelled at the human to get out when she came to realize something. While he was staring at her body, she was staring at _his_ body, at least the part that was removed of any clothing. _'Why would I do that?'_ Her hatred for humans was absolute... or so she thought. Sure, he was nice and kind of cute, pretty muscular, too but... "Whoa, whoa, whoa" Demona shook her head of any thoughts she didn't want to have. Perhaps her time as a human female during the day had other unforeseen effects on her views of human males.

"She is gonna kill me!" Brandon worried to himself, "I thought she was gone!" Even though he was sure that he was about to meet his doom, desiring thoughts of the gargoyle's body entered his mind.

Demona commandingly called out of the bathroom, "Human! I need some clothing, mine are still wet!"

Brandon stirred out of his thoughts and was a little taken back by being called 'human' in such a derogatory manner. Demona, hearing nothing but silence, realized what she had said, yet not knowing why she rephrased her request. "Brandon, I need some fresh clothing."

Smiling that she made an attempt at being a little more polite, he raised his voice enough to be heard and informs her that she can essentially raid his closet for what she wants to wear and that his pajamas are hung up to the left in his closet. He remembered that she had wings so he also tells her that he has a few old pajama tops that she can tear if need be to make room for her wings.

Demona peered out of the bathroom and looked around the bedroom, seeing that Brandon isn't present, and she stepped out of the bathroom wrapped firmly in the towel and exposes the contents of his closet. Once again, she was impressed at the level of organization. White shirts are grouped together, blue shirts are grouped together and so forth, even his slacks and jeans are hung up and grouped.

Demona easily found some clothing she could wear with her wings in a red tank-top and a pair of black baggy pajama pants. She walked out to see Brandon sitting on the couch looking bewilderingly up at her.

"What?" She snapped, watching him jump to his feet. "I assume these were the clothes you were speaking of."

"Yes, you look good... I mean, yes those are... They're fine." He just stood there with an oh-man-did-I-just-say-that kind of look.

Brandon immediately apologizes again for walking in on Demona, "I thought you had left because I didn't hear anything and the drapes were wide open."

For some reason, Demona came to accept his apology; maybe it was because he did seem truly sincere and he had meant no harm. "I was _thinking_ of leaving. I had opened the drapes to see if the skies were clear."

Demona took note that he was still without his shirt and just had his jeans on from earlier. She took small unnoticeable glances at his upper torso and somehow found herself impressed by this human's physique. He was well defined from what she could see and seemed as if he took great care of himself. To stop herself from continuing to look Demona mentioned she was hungry and looked towards the kitchen.

"Yes, of course." Brandon slipped into the kitchen, opening the fridge. "I picked up some chicken and rice, if you would like that. Not sure what you would like to drink, I only have a few bottles of Gatorade and... hmm... ahh, how about this?" Brandon questioned as he shut the fridge and opened the cupboard to pull out a half a bottle of wine.

Demona gave an awkward look. "Hmm, wine? Do you treat all the gargoyles you harbor to wine and dinner?"

Brandon laughed and assured her that it was simply a choice of drink if she liked and nothing more. He took up the Chinese food in his hands and turned his back to Demona to put the the food in the microwave. She took discovery of several angry scars on his back, just below his right shoulder, across the center and down the side. They ranged in size and looked like cuts, possibly whip marks, but either way, they looked to have been a painful set of injuries when it had happened.

Brandon set a time on the microwave and noticed the silence. He immediately figured out why Demona was quiet, so he quietly poured two glasses of wine and turned to face Demona. She was observing him with a curious look on her face.

Handing her a glass he spoke. "Noticed the scars, I take it?"

Demona nodded her head and rather bluntly asked what they were from. She saw a sad look, a shadow of the past, fall over his face paired with a bit of anger as he looked down to the kitchen floor. "I saw your medals; you were in the military, weren't you?"

"I was on a mission. That didn't end well, I..."

Just then the microwave beeped and he quickly turned around to grab the food, anxious for anything to get him out of the conversation. He placed the heated dinner on two ceramic plates and set them on his dining room table. Brandon pulled out a chair for Demona and offered her a seat, so she sat down graciously. Seeing that the last subject was very touchy, she brought up all the artwork around his home.

"I saw your easels, did you paint all of these yourself?"

"Yes, do you like them?"

Demona gave a smile, "They are quite realistic."

"They said, painting would help make transitioning into civilian life easier, that it would keep my mind clear."

Demona looked at him, slightly intrigued by the potential story, but then saw the dismay inch across his face.

Brandon quickly spoke. "Painting gives me a chance to forget certain things and only focus on the beautiful things in life; the things that make me happy."

A couple hours passed as they finished their dinner while attempting small talk. Eventually, Brandon had asked Demona why she had such hatred for humanity. "You seem to hate humans very much. Did you always dislike us so?"

"No... there was a time when..." But, she was interrupted by Brandon's wrist watch, beeping profusely which he checked right quick.

"Wow! I didn't realize that the time had flown so quickly. I should probably get to sleep."

Dropping the question from before, she asked. "Big day tomorrow, human?"

Brandon glared at her slightly. "Not all humans are horrible, Demona, and we do have names." Demona sighed a little.

"Big day tomorrow, _Brandon_?"

He smiled warmly. "No, nothing special really. I just get up at five fifteen most mornings so I can make it to the gym by six, then after that, I work on my art and try to get it shown in galleries. I to have find some means to pay the bills around here." He said with a forced smile. "I guess I will pass on a shower tonight. It was a pleasant evening and I enjoyed talking with you. Maybe we can finish our conversation sometime later in the future." He said smiling at Demona, until he thought of the need for slumber. "I am going get some sleep, but you can take my bed for the night, if you would like to stay. I can sleep on the couch."

Demona looked at him and agreed, she wasn't going to turn down a bed because the alternative was either the couch or outside where the hunters and rain were, and that simply wouldn't do for Demona. As Brandon cleaned up the dining table, Demona walked down the hall into Brandon's bedroom and pulled the tightly tucked-in sheets back. She figured she would wait until he was asleep and the skies a bit clearer before leaving; the proposition of staying all night wasn't all bad, but she needed to leave before she transformed. She disrobed and slipped under the covers, taking comfort in how smooth and cool to the touch they were on her skin. The sheets were soft and shiny, possibly satin. _'This human has good taste in bed sheets.'_ She thought.

Demona laid there, watching the nightstand clock tick by, her mind wandered as to why this human, Brandon, was so nice to her, how he was so attractive... she shook her head again, clearing thoughts she didn't want to have. Suddenly, she was startled by something jumping onto the bed by her feet.

"Meeeooow." Demona looked down at the cat. "You must be Snuggles, hmm?" The cat just yawned and curled up into a ball down by the end of the bed, but kept her eyes glued on Demona.

Brandon had been unable to fall asleep as he intended, his mind strayed with thoughts of the beautiful redhead sleeping in his bed, who just happened to be a gargoyle. He never had much luck with women because of his former life, he was always gone or doing something out of country. Why did he find a gargoyle to be attractive? Something about her just seemed... alluring. There was no question, Demona had a strong exterior that even the hardest metal couldn't crack, but he felt that she was more than just a mean gargoyle. She was quite pretty, actually, and what he had seen in the bathroom was not just pretty, but just downright gorgeous.

_'A gargoyle like her, though, would never have the same thoughts towards a human.'_ With that thought in mind, he finally managed to drift off to sleep.

* * *

The nightstand clock hit two in the morning as Demona pushed the sheets back and slipped out from the human's bed. The cat, who had been sleeping at the end of the bed, stood up and leisurely stretched. Demona walked past the cat to the bedroom window and peeked outside to see if the weather had let up, and was grateful that it had. The night skies were clearing and the moon could be seen through the breaking clouds.

She walked back past the cat and stopped. "Well, little kitty, it's time for me to go." She whispered as she scratched the cat behind its ears. The cat responded by jumping down and rubbing along her legs in a grand show of affection. Demona lightly pushed the cat away with her foot and walked into the bathroom to retrieve her, hopefully dry, clothing and get dressed. Flicking the lights on, she felt the fabric that she had hung to dry.

"Bah! still wet." She softly growled, slightly annoyed. Turning to the counter, she put her jewelery back on and looked into the mirror, her eyes focused on the human clothes that she placed in a pile next to the bed. "Well, he did say I could wear them."

She put the borrowed clothing back on, then gathered her still damp top and loin cloth and left the bathroom. Demona cautiously opened the bedroom door and slowly walked into the living room to see Brandon fast asleep on the couch. As she walked, the belt to her loin cloth clanged slightly to which she quickly grabbed in her talons to silence it.

'Why did I do that?' She thought; she didn't care if she woke the human up or so she thought.

Demona continued to walk through the living room, but stopped to look down at Brandon. He was sleeping on his stomach, half covered by his blanket, and hugging a pillow leaving his back exposed. Without even realizing it, she bent down and lightly brushed one of the scars with her talon. It felt as if the wound had been deep when the incident that caused it happened. She looked over to his sleeping face, he really did seem to be genuinely nice to her, and remembered that she had once said that Elisa Maza was the one exception to rule of humans being evil. Perhaps... this one wasn't so bad either.

Quietly, she pulled the drapes back enough to expose a glass door leading to the balcony. Sliding, the door open as best as she could, she stepped outside and glanced back at the human who so sweetly gave up his bed so she could sleep in it.

"Goodnight, Brandon." She said softly with a real smile as she slowly slid the door shut. Looking over the balcony, she made sure the coast was clear before flaring her great wings out and taking to the night sky towards her own home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is chapter 3 of my story, I hope everyone enjoys it. I will try and keep my chapters somewhere around 3000-4000 words so it doesn't overload the reader but is also big enough to satisfy. **

**Special thanks to my beta "London Bai" for editing it! **

* * *

Brandon awoke to the sound of his wristwatch's alarm going off at the usual time of five fifteen. He sat up on the couch and groaned in the unsightly pain the couch caused since it wasn't really the greatest thing to sleep on, but he made it through the night, it seemed.

Turning his head, he saw that the drapes were open. "Well, guess she's gone this time."

Remembering what had happened the last time he thought that she was gone, he had better cautiously check first. He stood up, sliding his pants back on before walking into the kitchen to get his morning shake and banana.

"Damn... I forgot to make it last night." He exclaimed. "Oh well, no time like the present." He began to mix the drink while eating a perfectly ripe banana. Yawning a little after creating the shake, he rubbed his eyes and walked down the hall towards his bedroom. The door was open, which was a good indication she had left, yet he still very carefully peeked inside.

"Demona?" He said softly, just in case she was asleep, but the bed was empty and the bathroom door was open with no light on. "She really is gone this time." He said, somewhat relieved, but also a little disappointed. He quickly downed his shake and walked to the bed, which had tossed sheets down by the foot of the bed.

Raising an eyebrow, he commented at the sight before him. "I know she saw that this was neatly tucked in before she ruined it, she could have, at least, made the bed."

But, he wasn't really upset. After all, it was just simply tucking the sheets back in and it was automatically fixed. The condition of the sheets aren't what plagued his mind at that moment, though. It was the thought that a gargoyle, namely Demona, had slept in his bed is what occupied his mind. Brandon made the bed and gathered his gym bag, picking out a random shirt and pair of workout shorts to put them on for his ritualistic trip to the gym. He walked into the bathroom to clean his face and slick his hair so he could brush it slightly to where it didn't look like he had slept on the couch when he looked around the area. "Hmm..." Her clothing that had been hung up was gone, but she hadn't left the clothes she borrowed.

"Haha. Oh man, not only did she eat my food and sleep in my bed, but she took my clothes, too." He said with an airy laugh. It really wasn't a big deal, he just thought that the entire night had been rather strange and hilarious. He took a mental note of the night's events as he chuckled to himself.

_'Saw a gargoyle, let that gargoyle into my home, let the gargoyle shower, saw the gargoyle completely naked...'_ His thoughts paused on that particular instance for a moment before continuing. _'Let her borrow some clothes and fed her, then let her sleep in my bed. And to top it all off, she then takes my clothes and doesn't even say goodbye. I won't be telling that story to anyone anytime soon. Others would think I am a complete nutcase.'_ He chuckled as he walked out the front door on his way to the gym.

* * *

A few days go by as life continued on as normal for Brandon, who was still ever vigilant in his workouts, still trying desperately to sell his paintings. The Veteran's Benefits he was receiving for his injuries wouldn't be enough this month to cover all his expenses, and rent was coming up next week. Still keeping positive in his outlook on life, he was sure something would come up... hopefully.

Just as the morning before and the morning before that, Brandon returned home at his usual time of eight-thirty from the gym. He greeted his cat as usual and poured some food and water into her bowls as he prepared his own breakfast. After his breakfast, he sat down in front of his easel and began work on a painting that he had started the day after he met the gargoyle, Demona.

"Hmm, needs a little more red here... and hmm, maybe some darker shading there..." He mumbled to himself while mixing colors to get the desired shades he wanted on the picture.

A few hours had past when the phone began to ring. Brandon checked his watch, checking it twice just to be sure of the time. "Almost noon, I wonder who this could be." He asked as he picked up the receiver.

"Hello? Yes... yes, absolutely. What time? Yes, I can make it, thank you." Brandon hung up the phone with a wide smile on his face. "Well, Snuggles, we might be making some money here, shortly." Brandon said to his cat in which all he received in return from the feline was a blank stare and a quiet meow.

"That's right, I might have someone interested in buying some paintings, and if all goes well, you can get some new cat toys and I can pay the rent." His appointment was for three this very day, which meant that he had enough time to have lunch and gather his books which contained pictures of everything he had painted that were available to purchase.

"Okay, kitty, time for me to go. I'll see ya later and hopefully I come back with a big check for us both!" Brandon said with a smile, hours later, as he gathered his things and left for his appointment.

* * *

Shortly before sundown, a Miss Dominique Destine was finishing up some last minute paperwork in her executive office at Nightstone Unlimited before she pushed a small button on her desk which opened up a secret doorway behind her office bookshelves. Once inside, the sun finally set, the woman had began her transformation from the human CEO known as Dominique Destine to the gargoyle known as Demona. After the painful ordeal, she removed her torn red business suit and replaced it with her traditional top and loincloth that she had always wore. Demona didn't know what had possessed her to do it, but she had brought a small bag containing the very clothes she had borrowed from the human that night and felt compelled to return them on this night.

"I will just drop them off, thank him, and leave." She told to herself.

She opened the window to her office and took to the night sky with the bag tight in hand. She really didn't know why she was doing this; they were only clothes, and he was just a human. But, something about this one fascinated her as he was one of the few that had been actually nice to her and wanted nothing in return. The sight of a gargoyle didn't really phase him that much either, so why wasn't he afraid like most humans? She wanted to find out why he was not afraid of her. Demona carefully navigated through the buildings, watching for any signs of the hunters. She didn't want a repeat of the previous night.

Carefully gliding down onto a rooftop across the street from Brandon's apartment, she looked around for any signs of the hunters before gliding down to his balcony. The drapes were half open as she looked inside seeing that the lights were on but seemed that nobody was home. For a moment, she thought of just leaving the bag on the balcony and gliding off into the horizon, but that wouldn't satisfy her curiosity so she tapped on the glass to see if he would come.

"Hmm, where is he?" Demona exclaimed.

A light tapping came from the inside of the door as she looked down, it was his cat pawing at the glass. Demona bent down and tapped back at the cat, "Hello, little one. Where is your owner?" She asked.

Looking up at the handle to the door she tugged on it, surprisingly the door was unlocked so she slid it open enough and walked inside. "Hello?" Demona said as she caped her wings around herself, still with no answer, she shut the door behind her and walked around. The cat meowed and rubbed against Demona's legs, lightly playing with her anklet, so she picked the tabby up and pet it momentarily before setting her back down. Demona looked at the clock on the cable box which read seven-thirty.

_'Where is he, I wonder.'_

Demona set the bag down next to his couch and looked over at something that had caught her eye. She walked towards an easel with a new canvas resting on it. There sat a painting, a painting of Demona. She picked it up and inspected it closely.

The picture was of herself wrapped in her wings, standing atop a building with the moon's glow highlighting the gargoyle's body. In the painting, she had no clothing but her wings covered her just enough to be tastefully pleasing yet wildly seductive. Demona began to clench the sides of the canvas with her talons, her emotions on the verge to get very angry.

"This human! What gives him the right to paint me, let alone like this?" Any notions she had that this human was different than the rest started to fade. Demona was about to shred the picture into pieces with her talons until she glanced down at the title that Brandon gave to all his pictures.

"Beauty not Beast" was written beautifully at the bottom of the picture.

Demona's anger quickly subsided as she read this and lightened her death grip upon the canvas.

"Not a beast..." Demona said softly.

_'Why did he do this?'_ She pondered, another question to be asked for later.

Just then, the lock on the front door began to unlock, Demona quickly sat the painting back down and backed up to the balcony windows drapes keeping her wings caped around her.

"What a shitty day," Brandon said depressingly as he walked in and shut the door.

"Bad day, hmm?" A familiar, yet unexpected, voice said startling Brandon.

"Demona!" He exclaimed, looking at the gargoyle. "How did you..."

"The balcony door was open, so I let myself in. I hope you don't mind." She stated.

"No, I am just surprised to see you is all. I wasn't sure if I would ever see you again, actually." Brandon said still looking depressed.

Demona picked up the bag she had left by the couch and handed it to Brandon. "I just wanted to return your clothes that you so kindly let me borrow and to thank you for letting me stay the night is all."

"Thanks for returning them, and it was my pleasure Demona," Brandon said graciously. Quickly glancing out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the painting he had left on his easel.

"You know, it is a really nice night out isn't it." He said, pointing out his balcony window trying to get Demona to turn so that he could flip the painting around.

"I already saw the painting, so there is no reason to hide it." Demona noted with a unreadable expression.

Brandon stood gaping, not sure what to say or how she would react. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have painted it."

"Then, why did you?" She looked at him; not with an angry stare, but one of genuine curiosity. "Why do you not fear me, either? You are very tolerant for a human."

"I have no reason to fear you. Mankind is horrible enough by itself to have to worry about something else." He said, while pulling out the bottle of wine from the previous night. "A glass?" He offered. Demona accepted as he poured two glasses and handed one to her. "Would you like to have a seat?" Brandon pointed to the couch while pushing the button on his blinking answering machine. The tape rolled back and played the message from his landlord reminding him _not_ to be late with the rent and that it was due next Friday.

"I know, I KNOW!" He angrily shouted, pushing the delete button.

"Still having money troubles?" Demona asked, relaxing unto a seat on the couch as Brandon walked over and sat next to her, leaving a cushion in between them. He took a drink from his glass and set it on the coffee table while crossing one leg over the other with a smile.

"Well, I had a prospective buyer for some paintings today. Unfortunately, he didn't like any of my work, so once again I made no money and the money I _do_ make from the Veteran's Benefits won't be enough to cover my expenses for this month. So, as of right now, I'm pretty much screwed. I guess the buyer was looking for one of those standard paintings of a giant blue box with a tiny red circle in the center or some crap."

Demona saw at the dismay darken his face. "I am sure something will come up before you know it."

"Thanks." His eyes fell upon Demona; he could tell she had wanted answers to the questions she asked before. "You certainly have a lot of questions. I will answer them if you will answer my questions after, deal?"

"Deal." Demona agreed, taking a small sip from her glass. Just then, a certain tabby made her way onto the couch, and to Brandon's surprise decided to curl up on Demona's lap instead of his.

"Well, it seems she likes you, which is funny because I named her Snuggles for the sole reason that she never snuggles. All she ever did was lay within petting distance, but... I guess she doesn't mind with you. Anyways, what did you want to know?"

"I want to know why you do not fear me, why you are so tolerant towards gargoyles. I want to know why you stopped dropped the talk about what gave you those scars."

"Well, that's three questions, but they all have the same answer." Brandon smiled warmly at Demona, picking up his wine glass to take another sip from it and sat back into the couch. "Better get comfy, this is one hell of a story.

"You saw my medals, so you know I was in the military, more specifically the Army Special Forces. My team and I were given a mission, standard search and rescue of a high priority nature. A church group had gone to spread their word of God to some local tribes in southern Asia and it just so happened that these tribes were on the edge of a war-zone. Eventually, the church had lost contact with the group. Normally, this wouldn't have been an issue for the United States government, but a certain member of this group was a US Senator's son. So, with that being said, my team was brought up to speed on the situation and dispatched towards southern Asia. The mission was simple: track them, find them, and bring them home with as little conflict as possible.

"It didn't take us long to find out what had happened; a neighboring war chief had raided the tribe and slaughtered everyone but the church group, it seemed. So, we picked up the trail and found what we were looking for about a day after. Before my team was a well fortified and heavily guarded camp of about thirty militia, so we laid low, did our recon of the area. We found the church group, or what seemed to be left of them anyways. Five members were being held in a makeshift bamboo cage just outside one of the huts. So, the plan was established to get in and out from the rear of the campsite, a night strike would be best so we could use the cover of darkness. We watched the camps movements closely that day, keeping track of how many guards they had and what the normal patrol route was for them. The sun went down and all was going according to plan; my team and I moved down the hill we posted on near the cage. The camp only had one entrance, which was guarded by two watch towers with the rest of the boundaries fenced off.

"We moved to the fence, cut it with wire cutters, and infiltrated the camp. The one guard stationed by the prisoners had his back to us, though, which made dealing with him easy. After one of my men dealt with him, we hid the body and moved to the jailed prisoners. They were kept in what seemed like a pig pen almost; the ground was wet and muddy and they were covered in the filth, so seeing if the Senator's son had survived would have had to wait until after my team led the remaining people of the group to safety. I cut the lock on the cage and waved them out, but they wouldn't come."

Brandon paused the telling of his memory and took another drink from his glass, looking at Demona. "You're the first person I have ever told this story to, and it's not an easy story to tell." Sighing deeply, he set his glass back down on the table. Demona didn't know why, but she felt compelled to put her hand on his, for comfort. "Thanks." Brandon said with a smile.

"Anyways, the prisoners wouldn't come out. I waved them out again and urging them to move. The five of them knelt down and pulled from the mud AK-47s, aiming them at us. Then, one of them yelled out in a tribal language and search lights blinded us while armed men ran out from the huts, instantly surrounding my team and myself. The lights had illuminated the prisoners, only they weren't prisoners at all. It was a trap, there never were any prisoners!

"Shortly after a sinister laugh came from the hut closest to us, it was the warlord for this group. He spoke in English to throw our weapons down. Seeing how we were greatly out numbered, I ordered my team to disarm, in high hopes that we would live to fight another day. I asked him what he had done with the group of people from the church, to which he responded with an answer I somewhat I already knew. He butchered them and burned the bodies. He figured someone would come, which is why he set the trap. He had us gathered up and forced us into one of the large huts. Recognizing me as the ranking officer, he most likely figured I would be more valuable to him, so I was tied up and strung up above the floor by my hands.

"The things he had his men do to my team right in front of my eyes. The immense pain that he caused to those soldiers before he finally..."

Demona listened to the things that Brandon said, even _she_ was shocked that someone could be as cruel as that warlord and do the things that he described. Sure, she attempted to destroy all of humanity before, but she never bloodied her own hands with such brutality, even that was beyond her.

"After his men had finished, he told them to leave. Then he, himself, focused his attention on me. He asked for information that I would never give him, which only angered him. He stripped me down, beat me up, whipped me brutally. I took what I thought was his best, but a scolding hot knife slicing through the raw and bloody flesh on my back was a step further. I endured this pain for five days before a second team managed to track us and raid the camp. I survived my ordeal, but my team... did not."

Brandon stared into Demona's eyes, making sure to connect their lines of sight. "You wanted to know why I don't fear you, how I can tolerate gargoyles?" He broke away from the eye contact, staring into the far distance beyond the walls of his home. "When one has stared true evil in the face, made peace with whoever one needs to, just to make peace with and accept their fate, then survive, what else is there to fear?

"After I was brought back to states and recovered, I was medically discharged from the military for post-traumatic stress syndrome. The suggestion from the therapist was to paint for it would help keep my mind clear, and it's a calm hobby. They said try and find things that are beautiful to you. The world is full of anger and hatred, but if you can find the good, the beauty in that, then you are well on your way to recovering not just your body, but your mind as well after such an experience, a brush... no, a dance with death.

"So, to answer your other question about why I chose to paint you. Gargoyles are made out to be monsters, that they kill humans on site and steal babies from there cribs, they say. When I saw you hiding on my balcony from those hunters, though, I didn't see a killer or a monster. Instead, I saw someone who was being hunted by killers, by monsters. I see the beauty in the so called 'beast."

Demona sat silent for a moment staring at Brandon, he had just bared his soul, his experiences, his pain with her. He really was the exception to her rule of humanity.

"Thank you," Demona said. Brandon looked at Demona curiously. "For sharing your story, I understand you better now. Part of me had thought perhaps you were hiding something, maybe you weren't as nice as you seemed, but you are."

Demona just looked at him and smiled. "Well, it is late and I should get back to my own home"

"Hey now, wait a minute, I just unloaded my emotional baggage and you're going to leave? What happened to _my_ questions? I want to know why you hate humanity so much, where you come from..."

"Tomorrow," Demona said cutting him off, "It's nearly 1:00am and you should get to bed."

"Tomorrow, huh? You promise?" Brandon said watching Demona get up from the couch and walk towards the balcony.

She turned and smiled as she opened the glass door. "I promise," she said closing the door behind her and taking to the night sky.

* * *

**Once again I really would like to thank the readers for taking the time to review what they have read and give me your thoughts, perhaps it will give me ideas for future chapters/stories surrounding these two characters.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is chapter 4 of my story.**

**Special thanks to my beta "London Bai" for editing it!**

* * *

The next day, Brandon returned home after his morning workout to find his answering machine was blinking. "Most likely the landlord reminding me of my rent again." _'Nobody else would call me this early in the morning.' _He thought to himself. Pressing the button, he was surprised that it wasn't his landlord at all.

"Hello, this is Mandi Baker. I work for Miss Dominique Destine at Nightstone Unlimited and I was asked to call you regarding our front lobby and Ms. Destine's personal office. We understand you have some artwork that may be of interest to us and would like to set up an appointment for tomorrow morning at 10:00am. If you can just give me a call back to confirm, I would appreciate it. The number is 555-9154 extension 143. Thank you for your time."

Brandon quickly picked up the phone and dialed the number to confirm that he would indeed make the appointment. Perhaps things would start to go his way sooner than he thought.

The day calmly progressed, in preparation for tomorrow he put his picture books together and in a briefcase so he wouldn't forget them and set it next to the front door. Tomorrow should be a good day, it was his off day from the gym so he could get little extra sleep, and then hopefully make enough money selling some art to pay the bills.

"Hmm, time for some lunch," he said looking at his watch.

It was just after noon when he decided to cook what was left of the takeout from the previous night. Going through his fridge he also figured he would hit the store, it was kind of bare and maybe he would pick something up for dinner tonight. Since he was having Demona as company again this evening he thought it would be polite to offer some proper dinner.

_'I'll get the essentials, but what to eat tonight, hmm... I guess you can't go wrong with pork chops and mashed potatoes, yea that's a plan.'_

Finishing his lunch, he set off for the grocery store just down the street. Walking outside of his building he looked up at the afternoon sky which was clouding up.

"Well, guess I'm taking the car. Not gonna get stuck walking if it rains."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Nightstone Unlimited Miss Destine had returned from a business meeting she had attended all morning and afternoon. She quickly walked from the elevator down to her secretary and office.

"Did you call Mr. Brown like I asked you to?"

The secretary quickly stood up to address her boss. "Yes, Ms. Destine, I left him a message and he called back shortly after to confirm that he will be here tomorrow at 10:00am."

"Good." And that is all she said to her secretary as she walked into her office and closed her door.

She sat down behind her desk and shuffled through some paperwork that had been set on her desk, but her mind wasn't on the papers in front of her, it was on Brandon. After listening to his story last night, she began to feel a connection between the two of them. His past was full of pain and anger, but it had also given him his tolerant outlook on life. He had been hurt by the few, but didn't hold the many responsible. Maybe he was right, maybe not all humans are truly bad. She sat there in thought for a moment.

She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to share her own past with him, to relate to him. Deep down she wouldn't admit it, but she just wanted one person to understand her pain, just one person to accept her, in over 1000 years no-one person had ever understood her.

Looking out her office window, she saw the clouds covering the late afternoon sky. _'Great, hopefully it doesn't rain tonight, I would rather not show up wet again.'_

She looked at her watch. "Three more hours. Please don't rain for three more hours."

Shortly after seven in the evening, Brandon heard tapping on his balcony window, looking up from the kitchen he saw Demona standing regally outside and waved her in.

She slid the door open and stepped inside. "I wasn't sure if I was going to make it without getting caught in the rain," she said while closing the balcony window.

"Well, I'm glad you did." Brandon said smiling at Demona.

She caught a whiff of something. "Cooking?"

"Yes, pork chops and mashed potatoes actually. Hope you like it because that's dinner." He said, winking at her.

Demona walked over towards the kitchen and peeked over the counter-top, "Looks good." She noticed he was in a pleasant and happy mood, she most likely knew the reason but figured she would ask anyways. "Having a good day I take it?"

He gave her a Cheshire Cat smile. "Fantastic so far. I got a call early this morning from a company looking to purchase some artwork, so I have an appointment tomorrow morning."

"I am glad to hear things are looking up for you."

"Please, have a seat; the food is ready."

Demona caped her wings around herself as she sat down at the dining table. Brandon set the plates on the table and a smaller one on the floor for his cat.

"Giving your cat pork chops too?"

"Haha, well, I don't want her to get jealous." He said suavely.

"This is very good," Demona said as she ate a piece of the very tender meat.

"Glad you like it, it should be good, it certainly cost enough. I figured I would splurge on a nice dinner since so far, things are looking good."

Demona looked over towards Brandon to catch his eyes looking back at her. "What?" she asked.

"I am pretty sure you promised to answer some of my questions hmm?"

She knowingly smiled. "Yes, I suppose I did, didn't I?" She took a napkin to wipe at the corners of her mouth. "What is it that you wanted to know?"

"I want to know where you come from, how long you live, what are you doing here in Manhattan, and why you hate humanity so much?"

As they ate, Demona explained she and her clan had originally come from Scotland, in the year 994 AD. She told him that gargoyles normally aged twice as slow as humans did, which of course intrigued Brandon as to how she had lived over one thousand years ago, but that was also eventually explained too. The story of how she was granted immortality and linked with a man named Macbeth until one of them killed the other was strange but he had no reason to not believe such a claim.

As she continued her story, Brandon began to clear the table of their plates and eventually they moved to the couch to continue. As she spoke, Brandon never took his eyes from her but for a moment to grab his drink, he was truly interested in what she said. The story of the betrayal by the human, who was the Captain of the Guard at the castle they protected brought sadness to Demona's face. The destruction of her clan, the one thousand year stone sleep of the remaining gargoyles, and how she was now alone and still alone today made Brandon feel sympathy for her.

One thousand years worth of story telling had taken time, it was nearly half past midnight when she finished.

"Now you know just about everything," Demona said looking at Brandon.

"Seems your past has been riddled with pain and anger to, but that still doesn't explain why you hate all humans."

"I suppose I don't hate ALL humans... you're not so bad." Demona said grinning at Brandon. "But I do suppose that only a few are the problem, the general population may not be so bad."

"I don't know if I am a beacon of morality for humans, but at least I try my best."

Demona looked past Brandon towards the balcony window, it had started to rain again, and pretty hard tonight.

Brandon looked behind him and knew what she was thinking. "You can stay here tonight again, if you want. I know you don't want to fly home in the rain."

Demona smiled. "Thank you, but I can't fly. Our bodies are too heavy for our wings, so we can only glide on air currents, but if you are good enough at it you can stay in the air for a very long time."

"Seems that's one more thing I now know about you. Must be nice to glide out in the open air, seeing everything around you. I have only experienced it from helicopters or jumping out of them, but never truly being in the air."

"Well, maybe one night when the skies are clear we can go gliding." Demona said smiling warmly.

Getting up from the couch Brandon got an extra pillow and blanket from the hallway closet. "You can take the bed again, I'll just crash on the couch." Demona started to walk past him towards the bedroom when he lightly grabbed her arm to stop her. "I was just wondering, will you be gone again when I wake up?"

"It would be best if I was." She said seeing his face sadden. "But we'll see each other again."

"Well... I would like that, very much." Brandon said with a smile. "Sleep well, Demona."

Demona walked down to the bedroom door and looked back at Brandon, her cheeks reddened slightly as she saw him looking back at her. Without saying a word, she continued into the bedroom and shut the door.

As she undressed, her mind was running circles with thoughts of these feelings she had started to have. _'Why do I feel this way, he is a human and I am... not.'_ She put her loincloth and top on the edge of the bed and slid under the soft cool sheets. She felt peaceful in his bed, being around this human in general. She must had been a little more tired than she thought as she did have a very busy day, as she laid there she began to drift off to sleep, but not before having some little less than moral thoughts about Brandon enter her mind. '_Touch me... caress me...'_

Morning rolled around as Demona opened her eyes slowly. Still sleepy, she looked around the room she was in and remembered where she was. She turned over to see the nightstand clock which read five forty-seven, then noticing the rays of sunlight coming through the bedroom window she quickly sat up and gasped.

"Oh, shit!" She said, quickly as a complete sunrise was only moments from happening and she hadn't been able to leave in time. Not even ten seconds later, an agonizing pain ran through Demona's body as her transformation from gargoyle to human had begun. She let out a scream as she began changing to human form.

Brandon was sharply awakened by Demona's scream from his bedroom as he quickly sprung up from his couch. What was happening in his bedroom he didn't know, perhaps the hunters had found out she was here?

_'But how?!'_ He ran to his kitchen table to reach under it for the holstered firearm he kept there for emergencies. He quickly paced down the hallway and listened for anything coming from his bedroom as it was now quiet. Brandon heard some soft labored panting coming from inside. With his back pressed against the wall, he used his heel to kick the door open and swiveled inside.

"FREEZE!" He shouted as he pointed his weapon at the standing figure while surveying the room from side to side for anyone else. Brandon tried adjusting his eyes as the sun was now glaring through the window.

He heard a familiar voice. "It's me, Brandon." It was Demona's voice coming from the figure in the sunlight. He quickly moved inside of the bedroom and out of the glare of the sun to see a nude pale skinned redhead standing in front of him. "You can put the gun down now," Demona said. Brandon lowered his weapon slightly and had nothing but questions. Demona looked at him and instead of a long drawn out explanation she said. "You know how gargoyles normally turn to stone during day? Well... I turn into this, a human, and it is quite painful and rather annoying."

Brandon ran his eyes up and down the pale skinned body that claimed to be Demona. "You really are her, aren't you?" She had the same ruby red hair, her body was just as toned as it was as a gargoyle, he even noticed that same neatly trimmed patch of red curly hair covering her sex that he had seen the previous night.

Demona just nodded while looking at him with a smirk.

He realized the obvious fact that once again he had burst in on Demona while she was nude, but for the second time Demona made no attempt to cover herself. Instead, she was just staring back at him with a bit of redness in her face. Brandon covered his eyes again and starting to apologize.

"You know, you really should put some pants on." Demona said pointing downward with an even bigger smirk.

Brandon removed his hand from his eyes and took notice of himself in the bedroom mirror. He had burst into the bedroom completely nude himself guns blazing and all. Granted, being startled and genuinely worried is what most concerned him at the time of jumping off the couch, so putting clothing on was the least of his worries.

Demona let out a devious laugh. "Not bad looking, for a human."

Even though it had come off jokingly, in her mind she took mental notes of the toned muscles and definition he had, among certain other well endowed parts of his body. Since he was already in his bedroom, he turned his back to her and opened his closet to quickly retrieve some clothing while placing his firearm on the shelf inside his closet.

"Nice rear, too." She added.

He blushed and was thankful Demona couldn't see it. He quickly put on a pair of slacks before things got to out of hand and embarrassing things started happening. Demona stepped beside him and shifted through his hung clothing. "I need something to wear out of here, but don't worry I will bring it back," she said with a wink.

Brandon grabbed a shirt and tie from his closet and stepped back to put it on while sneaking glances at Demona's now human form. Oddly enough he preferred the way she looked as a gargoyle, though she was still beautiful even now. She wasn't shy at all about her body which struck him a little off-guard but admired her for not being typically shy about something natural. As Demona found what she would wear in a simple pair of jeans and long sleeved shirt, she turned to him and caught him looking at her.

She playfully snapped at him. "See something you like, human!?"

Brandon quickly snapped back. "You're human now too, ya know! But honestly, I thought you even more beautiful as a gargoyle..."

That blunt and honest statement caught Demona by surprise as he had now seen her in the nude twice, in both forms, and he preferred her as a gargoyle. She, quite obviously, turned red at the statement and turned away quickly. She started to feel the way she did before she fell asleep last night again. _'Why?'_ Demona thought as she put on the borrowed clothing.

Finally, Demona broke the silence as they both finished getting dressed. "So, what was up with the gun thing, hmm?"

"I heard you scream and thought you were in trouble."

"You always keep a gun handy?"

He turned to her and smiled a little. "It pays to be prepared for anything and with my colorful past, you never know who you managed to piss off."

Demona grinned at him in understanding as she herself had an impressive arsenal of weapons and security systems in her mansion. "I can appreciate that." She said. "Thanks."

"For what?" Brandon asked.

"Even though I wasn't in trouble, it's the thought that counts, right?" Brandon just gave a smile in reply.

Demona walked out of the bedroom as Brandon followed, he looked at the wall clock and noticed the time. "Demona, I have to get going if I want to make this appointment." It was already half past eight in the morning and he needed to eat breakfast, and wash up for his ten o'clock meeting this morning.

He offered to pay for a cab so Demona could go where she needed to go. She accepted, seeing as she had no money due to her overnight stay here. Fifteen minutes later, she walked to his building elevator to go down to the waiting cab that he had sent for her, but Demona looked back at Brandon before she left. "I will see you soon." She said smiling. Before he could answer, she left him yet again.

"See me soon?" Brandon looked at his watch and grimaced. He went back inside his apartment and gathered his briefcase. He quickly put in some toast and had some orange juice while he went into the bathroom to scrub his face.

On the drive to his appointment, Demona filled his thoughts. He really did appreciate her gargoyle form much more than her human one, even though both were beautiful. It wasn't just her body he admired, it was her demeanor; she was tough, but also so delicate. He seriously hoped that he _would_ see her soon.

"Finally." Brandon said, as he pulled out front of the building his appointment was at. Nightstone Unlimited was the name on the outside of the building.

Brandon parked his car and began to walk up the stairs leading to the entrance. From the outside, he was amazed at the size and beauty of the building, it was must have been expensive to create such a place. He looked through the large glass doors and noticed a large white wall on the other side. He lightly tread through the front door and informed security as to his appointment. They cleared him and allowed him to head towards the elevator. Once inside the metal walls, he pushed the button for the top floor. As he stepped out of the elevator, he approached the receptionists' desk and stated his name and business with Ms. Dominique Destine.

"Oh, yes. I am Mandi Baker, we spoke on the phone." She, then, alerted Miss Destine that her appointment was here and buzzed him into the office.

Brandon walked through the large wooden door that had swung open for him and as he entered he almost had a heart attack.

"YOU!" He quickly said, as the door closed behind him.

There sat Miss Dominique Destine in which he also knew her as Demona. Miss Destine sat there with a big grin on her face as she knew they would indeed see each other soon.

"Have a seat and show me this art you think would look good in my building Mister Brown, then we can seal the deal later over an early dinner." Miss Destine said, a light glint in her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here is chapter 5 of my story.**

**Special thanks to my beta "London Bai" for editing it!**

* * *

Brandon had agreed to meet Demona, or rather Miss Destine at four in the evening at a restaurant called 'Ecuatoriana Restaurant' between 143rd & 144th Street, so that they could seal their deal of the artwork purchase. Weighing heavily on his mind, while driving to meet her, was the sizable check she had written out for him. He did want to sell his pieces so that he could pay the bills, but with the amount of zero's clearly penned on the check he felt that it was just too much. He had brought it up in their conversation earlier but she wouldn't have any of it and shooed him out of her office until they could meet later for dinner.

_'I don't want to insult her or seem ungrateful, but it really is a lot of money...' _He thought to himself while driving through the heavy traffic. That is one of the very few things Brandon hated about living in this area, his car almost begged him to drive it faster but with the amount of traffic, it was really a crying shame he couldn't.

Brandon pulled up to front entrance of Ecuatoriana Restaurant exactly on time just as Miss Destine had instructed. The restaurant was rather large and fancy, it almost had an old Roman look to it with the large white pillars out front. He took notice of the red-headed beauty standing out front of the restaurant as the valet opened his car door and gave him a ticket for his vehicle.

"Be careful with the car, will you? The clutch is a bit temperamental."

The valet acknowledged the comment and drove the loud Mustang off towards the parking lot.

"That was your car, hmm?" Miss Destine asked, slightly bewildered.

Smiling, Brandon replied. "Yes, Miss Destine, I built it from the ground up. I'm sure it's not exactly what you are used to being in, but it can really get your heart racing."

She smirked at him. "You _can _call me Demona, you know. This isn't my office, so it's perfectly fine."

The two walked into the restaurant together and were immediately greeted by the hostess. She smiled and spoke Latin to Demona, to which she responded right back in Latin. They were led right over to a large booth in the corner of the restaurant and given menus to look at.

Giving a look of what seemed like confusion, Brandon looked through the menu, which was of course mostly all in Latin.

"So, what kind of restaurant is this, Demona?"

"It's a Latin one. I like to come here often as not many people still speak the language."

"Ah, I see. So that is why the hostess spoke to you first. She knew you would respond back."

"If you need some help with the menu, I can tell you what things are, if you'd like." Demona said trying to be helpful.

"Thanks, I would like that very much."

The two slid towards the center of the corner booth so that they could look through the menu together.

Moments later, the waiter came over to take their drink orders and if they were ready to order their meals. Demona looked towards Brandon to see if he knew what he wanted and he gave her a slight nod to confirm he was and pointed to the item on the menu. She, then, gave the waiter her drink and food order, handing the man both of the menus. She began to give Brandon's order to the waiter in Latin when she paused, a slight shock by the feel of Brandon's hand on top of hers. Smiling, Brandon locked eyes with Demona as he spoke perfect Latin, telling the waiter his drink and food order, then thanking him graciously. Demona's mouth popped slightly open out of shock that his hand was on hers and in fascination that he spoke Latin.

"You speak it as well!? Where on earth did you learn that from?"

"Well, you pick up a few languages when you do the things that I did, Demona."

"So, you didn't need my help to read the menu." Demona playfully snapped at him. "And your hand on mine is for what exactly?"

"I didn't want to be rude by cutting you off while you were talking, so I figured that it would have been more subtle. I'm sorry if it bothers you."

"No!" Demona quickly blurted out. "I mean yes. Yes, it actually does in fact bother me." She slipped her hand from under his and placed it unto her lap. She could almost feel the redness in her face from her creeping blush, but was immediately relieved when the waiter brought their drinks. She thanked the waiter and quickly took a sip from her glass.

"Demona, there is something I wanted to bring up with you while we're here."

"If it has to do with the price on the check, you can stop right now."

"Sorry, but it really is a lot more then I think I deserve, I don't want to seem..."

Demona cut him off by placing her hand onto his this time.

"Look... you need the money and I need artwork for my building. I paid you what _I _think the value of your work is, even if it was more than you expected. It was _my_ decision to pay you that much. Besides... look at it this way, you can pay your rent now and even buy a new car to replace that junker you have."

"Junker!?" Brandon said with a raised eyebrow.

She quietly laughed at his response. She knew the car wasn't really a junker and knew the value of the vehicle to him, but she enjoyed the rise she got out of her human beau. 'No, not that, just Brandon.' She chided to herself.

They received their food and began eating when Brandon had raised the question of how Demona knew Latin enough to speak it. She paused and thought about how much to tell him, but decided it really couldn't hurt to tell him the entire story of magic and the Arch-Mage.

"Where to start? Hmm... Well, the quickest explanation would be that I wanted to learn magic shortly after I grew out of my hatchling stage. All of the spells were in Latin, so I had no choice but to study the language in order to cast the spells. I have learned many a spell over the course of one thousand years. It took quite a long time and my training, I admit, was not easy." She explained to him the ordeal of her tutelage under the Arch-Mage; how he was very mean to her, called her names and such, but she soaked up everything he taught her and put up with it all until she had learned what she wanted to know.

Brandon was very interested in her story and she did take notice of that as he had given her his unbroken attention while she spoke.

They continued to talk and enjoy their food but was interrupted by a beep on her wrist watch. Demona noticed a worried mask fall over Brandon's face. "No worries, we still have a little time. This is just an early warning that it is getting around to '_that' _time is all. I've got about an hour, so we should wrap this up here shortly." It was very near six, so a public place for Demona's little transformation wouldn't be very good.

Brandon gives an understanding smile to Demona. "Well, I'm sure you need to get to wherever you call home, so perhaps we should go ahead and call it a night?"

Demona let out a light sigh as she then signaled to the waiter to bring the check.

"What's wrong?" Brandon asked, noticing the obvious disappointment.

"It's nothing, just another nice evening ruined by my little ordeal is all."

"It wasn't ruined at all." Brandon said reassuring her. "Here, I'll take care of the bill. It's the least I can do."

But Demona, being the way she is, didn't listen and gave the waiter her credit card. "It's at the company expense, so don't worry about it."

"Well, how about you at least let me give you a ride home."

"I have a car waiting for me, but I appreciate the offer." She took notice of his disappointment shadow his face but felt that words at that moment would be empty.

After the bill was paid, the two of them slid out of their booth and walked out of the restaurant where a long black limousine was parked just in front of the grand door, waiting for it's exclusive rider. The driver opened the door, patiently waited for Miss Destine to seat herself into the vehicle. Brandon gave his ticket to the valet, watching the eager young man bound away to retrieve his car. Demona turned to Brandon, learning forward over his right shoulder to whisper into his ear. "I will see you later.''

Brandon could feel her warm breath touch his ear and caress his neck as she lightly whispered, his skin welcoming the pleasurable heat rolling from her. He couldn't make heads or tails of her sometimes, but perhaps that was why he found himself so entranced by her. The mystery surrounding her was enough to drive any man crazy, at least... the ones who didn't mind the bit about the gargoyle form. Before he could say anything intelligent, she turned round and entered the limo to head to her home.

Brandon stood there and waved her off as the car drove away down the street, which was then followed by his car pulling up in front of him. He tipped the valet and got into his Mustang and pulled away towards his own domicile.

As Brandon entered his apartment, he was greeted at the door by his obviously hungry tabby cat. He could tell she was hungry by how vocal she was being. Normally, his cat will only meow if she is hungry or pissed off. He filled the cat's bowls with food and water and gave her a light petting while she ate.

"You're getting new toys just like I said you would. I made a bunch of money today, so we don't have to worry about the little things much anymore." He said to his cat, who didn't bother to give a response.

It was almost seven and since he didn't have any plans for tonight Brandon figured he might as well have an early shower. With that thought in mind, he got undressed and turned his shower on. Stepping into the hot water was a big relief as it was always a relief on a cold night, he supposed. Reaching for his bottle of shampoo he noticed it was a little light. In fact, the bottle was empty. "Eh!? She used all of my shampoo! Damn it..." Although he wasn't really upset, complaining made the situation feel slightly better. Heavily sighing, he placed his hands on the shower walls and just let the hot water rush over his head and down his body. The thought that Demona used the remainder of his shampoo had triggered a slew of thoughts. '_Why am I so enamored with her?' _He thought to himself. '_It's not just her body, it's her whole personality. The way she acts both as a human and as a gargoyle... that's what's driving me bonkers.'_

Casting the thoughts aside for the moment, he finished his shower and stepped out to dry off. Once the water was off he heard a loud tapping noise coming from out in his living room. He wrapped the towel around his waist and walked out of the bedroom to see Demona standing on his balcony with a hand on her hip and a look of I've-been-here-forever-now-let-me-in.

Brandon unlatched the lock to the glass doors and let her inside. "Sorry, were you out there long?"

"I was. I saw your car outside and knew you were home, but I wasn't sure what you were doing."

Throwing his hands up to show the obvious towel around his waist, he apologizes to her anyways. "Sorry you had to wait out there. When you said you would see me later, I didn't think it would be tonight." He finished, lightly chuckling.

"Oh? Should I go then?" Demona said in an emotionless tone.

"No. No, please stay."

Demona smiled as she spoke. "While I was out there, I did get a chance to admire the view from your balcony. It's quite nice at night with the city all lit up."

He could sense that Demona was covertly hinting that she wanted to overlook the city with him. "Give me a sec. I'll throw some clothes on and we can sit outside for a bit." He practically flew into his room, tossing aside his towel haphazardly in the doorway of his bathroom, and sifted through his clean clothes. Quickly, he got dressed and stepping into the living room, seeing Demona already standing outside on the balcony, leaning against the railing looking outward into the distance. He walked outside and slid shut the door behind him. Brandon stood closely to her as he, too, leaned against the rail, but he wasn't looking at the city. His attention was turned to Demona.

She turned her head towards Brandon, a small smile upon her lips when she noticed his stare, which hid nothing of his attraction for her. She, too, felt something, but it was something she hadn't felt in nearly one thousand years. Sure, she had a small fling with the Goliath clone, Thailog, but it never went anywhere sexually. In fact, if Thailog hadn't betrayed her first, she was planning on deserting him herself.

"It's a calm night, tonight" She spoke, breaking the silence between them.

"Yeah, it's a pretty nice ni..." Brandon was quickly caught off guard as Demona scooped him up into her arms as if he was a damsel in distress. "Hey, what are you doing?..." Demona stepped up onto the railing of the balcony. "Whoa! whoa, what are you...?!" She flared her wings out and began to step off from the ledge. "Jesus Christ!" Instinctively, Brandon wrapped an arm around Demona's neck.

"You'll be just fine." Demona assured him as they began to glide from his building top, going through the night sky, up higher with the gentle air currents that constantly whisks through the city air. "You're not scared are you?" Demona laughed slightly at Brandon's overall reaction.

"Of course, I'm not scared, but you sure surprised the hell out of me. It's not often that you get scooped off your feet and get to go gliding through the night sky."

"That's not what your arm says being wrapped around me." Demona chuckled, feeling his arm slightly relax. "So what do you think? Does this get your heart racing a little more than your little car?"

Playing coy, Brandon decided to not admit that it was at least at this moment a much more enjoyable experience. "It's ok, no real thrill though." He said with a smirk.

"I could easily drop you, you know." She said grinning maliciously at him. "Would _that_ be a thrill?"

A small dry swallow revealed his discomfort. "Well, if you're going to drop me then I just want you to know that you used the last of my shampoo the other night."

Demona let out of an honest laugh. "Is that so? I will be sure and replace it for you then."

Gliding through the cool night air Brandon looked around his surrounding in awe of how different the city looked from the air. From this perspective, everything seemed much simpler and organized. Demona tightened her grasp around Brandon as they hit an air current which propelled them even higher. Their journey took them over the waters of the East River and towards the Brooklyn bridge.

"Where are we going, Demona?"

"Atop the bridge. I enjoy the view from up there and I think you might too."

The air over the water was chilly and sent shivers through Brandon. He wasn't exactly dressed for a night of gliding around, but he was enjoying himself none the less.

Demona could feel Brandon slightly shiver. "Cold?" Demona asked thoughtfully.

"No, I am fine, but thanks."

"Playing tough guy, hmm?" Demona smirked at him as she held him a little tighter to her chest.

They had finally reached the top of the center of the bridge as Demona softly touched down, releasing Brandon from her grasp. She turned to see the city lights reflecting off of the water, the moon delicately strung up high in the sky, it's soft light visible on the waters' rippling surface.

"So, what makes you come to this spot? Just the view?" Brandon quietly questioned.

"No... I come here to think. It is very peaceful here and oddly enough the sounds of the cars below is somewhat soothing. It's hard being me, in the sense that I have no clan to call my own. Having no one else but myself. The other gargoyles pass their judgment on me for the things that I have done, but none of them have lived almost completely alone for as long as I have." Demona clenched her fists feeling the anger of her past boiling to the surface.

Brandon placed his hand on top of her clenched right fist. "Don't dwell on the past so much. Everyone has done something they are not proud of, but if you live in the past, you can't ever live here in the present."

Demona lowered her hands and looked into Brandon's eyes. "I've done bad things." She said in a saddened tone. "Horrible things..."

Brandon, feeling the need to give her a hug, pulled on her hand bringing Demona close to him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders in an attempt to console her. "Don't worry about what you've done. Worry about what you're going to do."

Demona, not sure of how to react to this show of affection, backed off from Brandon a bit. "I should get you back to your apartment since it's only going to get colder out here.

Brandon could sense the uneasiness pour from her and silently agreed. Demona once again scooped him up into her arms and took to the night sky towards his home. It was a quiet glide back to his balcony as both of them were knee deep in thought about what the other was thinking. Demona had a little more on her mind, though, as she was just not sure how to react to a show of affection. They landed safe and sound back at Brandon's apartment after their night trek. He slid the glass door open and looked back at Demona. "Coming in?"

"No... not tonight... I need to take care of some things..."

Brandon stepped back over to Demona, noticing that she was intentionally trying to keep her gaze away from him. "Look, I'm sorry about the hug thing. You just seemed like you really needed one is all."

Demona slowly turned her attention back to Brandon and locked her emerald green eyes to his deep blue eyes for a moment before she stepped forward and gently pressed her lips to his in a warm thoughtful kiss. Sliding his eyes closed, Brandon cupped her right cheek with his hand as he deepened their kiss, both of them glad for the small release of tension growing between them. Demona slid a hand through Brandon's hair as she allowed herself to become lost in the kiss, but something didn't quite feel just right. Oh, she knew that she wanted him, but this moment isn't the right time. Reluctantly, she was the one to break off as she stepped back from him. She gave him an unsure look before she bound up into the night sky without so much as a goodbye.

Not sure what to think of it all, Brandon watched her sleek silhouette disappear into the night before going inside for the evening. He shut the doors and drapes behind him before walking back into his bedroom to disrobe and head for bed. Flooding thoughts of Demona and her sudden kiss were trapped in his mind. The memory of how soft her lips were and how warm her body was occupied his psyche before he fell deep into slumber.

Unbeknownst to either of them, their little scene on the balcony had been carefully watched by a figure concealed in the shadows of a building's rooftop close-by.


	6. Chapter 6

**Here is chapter 6 of my story.**

**Special thanks to my beta "London Bai" for editing it!**

* * *

Dawn was only a few hours away as Demona finally returned to her home after leaving Brandon standing on his balcony. She had taken the long, scenic route home as she wanted a little time to think about what had transpired between them. Landing softly on the large veranda leading into her bedroom, she opened the large double glass doors and entered her home. She caped her large wings around herself as she shut the doors, walked through the bedroom into the hallway, and down the stairs that led to the kitchen. As she walked, thoughts of the human... Brandon flooded her mind. She would have very much liked to think that she didn't know why she had the gall to kiss him, but she knew exactly why she had and she was very unsure as to what exactly to do about it.

_'I've hated humanity for so long and here I kissed one of them!' _She forcefully thought as she entered the kitchen to pour herself a small glass of Merlot.

Demona, clearly warm and flustered at her current predicament, decided to do what she always did when she was perplexed: take a hot bath. This was one of the little pleasures she enjoyed very much. Accumulating her vast wealth over ten centuries, and recently being able to become a human during the day made buying and enjoying such menial luxuries all that much easier. A large elegant house, nice designer clothes, and a wonderful bathtub she had installed which was plenty big enough for wings to lay free behind her. All of which were really the only things she truly enjoyed about this human-filled world. Topping off her glass, she walked back upstairs into her bathroom and started to run the water. As the water rushed out of the faucet, filling the spacious cream-colored tub, she looked at the tiled walls of her immaculate bathroom area around the tub and shower. Demona smiled to herself as it was similar to the dark blue tile and white caulking that Brandon had in his bathroom.

Running her index talon through the water to see if it had reached the right temperature, the red head turned the hot knob a little further to increase the heat. She set her glass on the edge of the tub and stood up to get undressed. As she slid her halter-top off her shoulder and down to her waist, she took notice of herself in the mirror across the room, the steam for the water already coating the mirror in a layer of water. She had never really been one to think of herself as particularly attractive, at least to a human. Unclasping her belt and sliding her loin cloth down to her ankles along with the top, she looked herself over in the mirror and smirked, giving a little seductive pose at herself. _'Why the hell did I just do that..' _She immediately thought, berating herself afterwards.

Once her clothing and jewelry were off, she sat down in the hot water and laid her head on the tubs' headrest. The hot water enveloped her body making her feel instantly relaxed. Taking a sip from her glass and closing her eyes she found herself deep in thought. _'Would he still be interested if he knew I had planned to destroy the entire human race? Do I even still want to do that now that I have met him? Could a relationship even work between us? I shouldn't have left him tonight... I wanted him so badly... it's been so long since I've been with someone.'_

As Demona's thoughts quickly went south, so did her right hands' talons. The warm embrace on top of the Brooklyn Bridge, if only for a brief pleasurable moment, the deepened wanting kiss on his balcony all led her to think Brandon would be a very passionate mate, and that was something she hadn't had in nearly ten centuries. Pair that with the memory of how his body looked when he had burst into the bedroom thinking she was in trouble and it all fueled her lust for him further. Demona placed her glass back on the edge of the tub as she twirled a few curls of red pubic hair around her index talon before moving it gently over her sex. Her other hand, now free from the glass, was able to caress her left breast as she softly pulled on her dark blue nipple. A soft moan filled the air of the heated bathroom as her deft talons brushed over her aching personal bud.

"No..." Demona lustfully, yet angrily said aloud. "I shouldn't be doing this..." Her talons, despite her claim, wanted to continue. "Let alone over a..." She stopped herself as she didn't want to say it this time. He wasn't just a human; he was Brandon and once again her conflicting thoughts had ruined her little moment of pleasure.

Letting out a great big dissatisfied sigh, Demona stepped out of the her bathtub and grabbed her towel to dry off. "Last month, I hated humans. This month... I just don't know." Throwing the towel over the shower door, Demona trudged down to her bedroom figuring she might be able to get an hour or two worth of sleep before she transformed.

* * *

Atop of the Eyrie Building on the walls of Castle Wyvern, Goliath and Elisa looked outward into the soon fading night sky as they saw Broadway returning from his nightly patrol.

"Where is Angela? I thought you two were out patrolling together?" Goliath asked Broadway.

"I'm not sure, Goliath. She went off on her own for a bit and said she would meet me back here at the castle."

"You just let her go off on her own!? When there are all these dangers around! What if she runs into Quarrymen!?" Goliath angrily questioned.

Elisa sensing how badly Broadway felt, moved beside Goliath and wrapped her arm around his flexing arm to calm the leader. "I'm sure she will return soon. She knows how dangerous it is to be out alone, especially after sunrise with the Quarrymen still around."

"Sorry, Goliath... you know how she is. She loves to explore the city. Do you think she will be okay?" Broadway asked, feeling utterly dismayed.

_'Hmm, I hope she returns soon. The sunrise is fast approaching.' _Goliath thought to himself. "I am sure she is just fine, but her constant exploring of the city is getting very dangerous, so next time you are to go with her, no matter what she says. Understand?" He sternly said to Broadway.

"Yes, Goliath..."

Within just a few short moments, Angela was quickly gliding up the tall building, towards the castle where Elisa, Goliath and Broadway stood waiting.

"See? There she is, Goliath!" Elisa said in a cheery tone.

Angela lightly landed next to Broadway, taking notice of his sullen expression. She could tell he had gotten in trouble and knew why. She caped her wings around herself and put a hand on Broadways' shoulder before turning to Goliath. "Sorry, father. I guess I didn't notice the lighting sky or I would have returned earlier..." She could tell her father was angry that she had been out so late, alone.

"Broadway, leave us. I will discuss this matter further with you later." Goliath watched as Broadway turned the corner before turning to question his daughter. "What were you doing to be out so long?" Goliath asked quickly. "You know it's not safe to be out by yourself and if you didn't return in time, you would be left vulnerable!"

"I know father, I'm sorry... I just wanted to explore the city a bit more and I ended up seeing mother with..."

Goliath quickly became angrier. "You saw Demona!? Did she see you? You didn't talk to her, did you? She has lied to you before and I have told you several times to stay away from her!"

"I didn't talk to her, father. She didn't know that I had seen her, but I saw her with a human..." A slight blush crept over her lavender cheeks, which didn't go unnoticed by Elisa.

Before Goliath could scorn her further, Elisa stood in front of him to ask Angela questions in a more calm demeanor. "So, you saw Demona with a human? What were they doing?"

"Well, after exploring I was heading back towards the castle when out of the corner of my eye I saw mother gliding away from the Brooklyn Bridge. I noticed she had someone in her arms so I thought I would take a look and saw that she had a human with her."

"Where did they go? What were they doing?" Goliath blurted out, wanting to know what happened tonight.

Angela kept her head down while she spoke to avoid her fathers' austere gaze and partly to hide the embarrassment of what she had witnessed. "She took the human to an apartment building. I guess it was were he lived."

"So, what were they doing Angela?" Elisa asked curiously and interested.

"Well, they were standing on the balcony for a moment... and umm... and then mother kissed him before she left."

"WHAT!?" Elisa and Goliath said at the same time. Both of them couldn't believe what Angela had just said. No way would Demona kiss a human; she hated humanity too much for that to even be a possibility.

"Are you sure you saw them kiss? Demona kissed him?" Elisa carefully asked. Angela just nodded, confirming what Elisa just asked. "Not the other way around?" Angela slowly shook her head.

"Hmm, what could Demona be doing with a human? What could she be planning?" Goliath stated quizzically.

"Whatever it is, it's usually never good news." Elisa added.

Angela was always the one to defend her mother, despite the fact that Demona had lied to her several times and led her into a trap wasn't ready to dismiss the possibility that maybe she could change. "Why do you two always assume that she's up to no good!? Maybe she _does_ like a human? It wouldn't be any different then what you and Elisa do, father!" Both Goliath and Elisa gave blank stares at Angela. "Don't try to deny it. I've seen you two together... on accident." Angela said, deeply blushing again.

Elisa had no words to reply out of pure embarrassment and extreme shock that Angela had witnessed them together. Instead, she turned to Goliath and coaxed him with her eyes into saying something.

"What Elisa and I have... is different, and neither one of us have plots to destroy humanity. Whatever Demona is doing must have an ulterior motive." He took a moment to examine the sky. "The sun is coming up soon. We should take our places for the day."

"Before you go, Angela... can you tell me the building where you saw them at? I figure while you guys are sleeping, I will do a little detective work on who this guy is."

Angela told Elisa exactly where she had seen them and she knew the building, but couldn't remember the address. She would have to drive by it on the way back to the police station before she can look this guy up.

"You guys sleep well. I will be here when you wake up and hopefully with some information for you guys."

Angela and Goliath took their usual places on the castle walls as the sun rose and the stone skin began to cover their bodies for the day. Elisa knew this was going to be another long day so before heading out she decided to hit a local vendor for coffee.

* * *

After getting her coffee and driving by the building to get the address, Elisa was now finally back at her new police station in the 25th precinct until they could finalize the repairs to the 23th precinct building. The repairs were going slow as the damage from the explosion that the hunters had caused were extensive and fixing anything in New York is slow at best.

As Elisa walked up the steps to the building now Co-Captain Chavez was walking down them to her car as she passed Elisa. "You're off duty, you know."

"I know, just wrapping up a few things before I head home."

"Well, you're off the clock, so don't be too long. Go home, Maza, and get some sleep." Captain Chavez said as she entered her vehicle.

Elisa acknowledged her boss and dashed inside the building and walked towards her desk. Sitting in her chair with a fresh cup of joe, she glanced at the notepad she had written the address on as she opened up the police database to type in the building address and apartment number for the top floor where Angela said she had seen Demona. As the dated computer churned away, Elisa leaned back in her chair a bit carefully watching the screen, but also thinking about what Angela had said she saw. Not about Demona, but between Goliath and herself. If Angela had seen them, who else could have? They would have to be more careful in the future and, of course, a rooftop isn't exactly an ideal place for sex. A smile crossed her lips as that thought graced by her mind.

_'What if Angela was right?' _Elisa thought. _'Maybe Demona and whoever this guy is actually has something together. If Goliath and I could, then maybe...'_

Just then, her computer turned up the results of who lived in the very top floor apartment. "Brandon Brown." With a few short key strokes, she entered the needed information to pull off any record this guy had. A rather large file of information popped up immediately. "Humph, not surprised the guy has a record... wait a minute."

Elisa was expecting the typical bad guy profile, burglary, murder, etc... but that isn't what she got at all. This record was military.

"Let me see here... First Lieutenant Brandon Brown, Army Special Forces, served in the Gulf War, Desert Storm, multiple missions in Kuwait, Afghanistan, Africa, South East Asia, Bosnia, awarded the Purple Heart twice and the Silver Star." Trying to get more information on what exactly he did, Elisa tried clicking on each individual file, but to her disappointment, they all came up classified. The only thing she _could_ get was his basic information and that was enough to lead her to believe that Goliath was right. Demona was up to something, this guy wasn't random at all. Nobody like this, a professional soldier would be a chance encounter of Demona's path.

"This looks like all the information I'm getting on this guy today. Guess I'll call it a day and head home."

Elisa hit a button on her computer to print out what she was allowed and shoved it in a folder to show Goliath later that night. With that done, Elisa was finally on her way home to get some much needed sleep for tonight.

* * *

As dusk approached, Elisa, with a manilla folder in hand, was waiting for Goliath to awaken so she could tell him what she had found out. As the sun set over the horizon, Goliath and the others cracked their thick skin and roared out of their stone slumber. Elisa greeted everyone as they briskly walked past her and into the castle to either watch television or eat... or both. Only Angela and Goliath stayed behind to talk with Elisa.

"So, what did you find out?" Goliath questioned.

''Well, the bottom line is this: the guy is ex-military. He was in the Special Forces." Elisa informed the violet gargoyle.

"Special Forces? What is that?" Goliath asked.

"It's pretty much one of the most highly trained groups of soldiers around. They usually do things that regular soldiers can't do. If you need a job done, you call these guys. I hate to say it, Angela, but I think Goliath was right. Guys like this aren't just random."

"But, what if it is just a random coincidence?" Angela said angrily. "You can't always judge people or assume negative things are going on if you aren't fully aware of what could be happening in their lives!" With an exasperated huff, she walked past the two of them and into the castle to join the others.

"Angela, wait!" Goliath shouted, but received no response from his daughter as she quickly disappeared into the vast castle. "I hate to upset her, but she doesn't know Demona like I do. She is up to something, I know it."

"I don't know, Goliath... maybe it isn't what it seems. I will admit that knowing who this guy is it does seem suspicious but what if she actually found someone to _be_ with?"

"I cannot believe that, Elisa."

"What about us, then? We found each other by chance. I'm just saying maybe Angela is right. Maybe it's a possibility. A very, very rare possibility, but just _maybe_..."

"Maybe, but _we_ are different. We don't plot and scheme to do such evil things..." Goliath was silenced as Elisa came in close for a hug.

"Why don't we go check this guy out tonight, Goliath? At the very least, I can talk to him to try and get some information about Demona. It could be dangerous though, so if you came along I would feel a little safer. Who knows? We might run into Demona there." Elisa smiled at Goliath.

A low rumble resonated deep in his chest. A sign of him thinking. "Very well. If you think it is best to talk to this person, then I will accompany you to make sure you are safe."

With that being said, Goliath picked up Elisa and set out into the starry night sky over the busy island as she guided him towards the apartment building.


	7. Chapter 7

**Here is chapter 7 of my story.**

**Special thanks to my beta "London Bai" for editing it! Sorry for the long wait, this chapter was difficult to get just right!**

* * *

The playful sound of a bell jingling from one end of the living room to the next could be heard from within Brandon's apartment. True to his word he had purchased his normally recluse tabby some new toys, and to spur her on, they were smothered in catnip. Laying on the floor, watching his cat run back and forth on the smooth wooden floors to get the toy but failing miserably, brought a big smile to his face.

All in all, it was quite a pleasant evening. He had paid his rent earlier that day and, to his land lord's surprise, he paid the rest of the year off to avoid anymore late rent phone calls. His car insurance was paid in full, as was his credit card bill. For the first time, since he was discharged from the Army, he hadn't a care in the world... except for Demona. And all of this was possible, thanks to Demona, so thinking about her was hard not to do. If the truth was known though, Brandon had actually been a little hurt by her early departure last night. A simple goodbye would have made her leaving nicer.

Lost in thought, he was brought back by his cat pawing at the toy still in his hand. "Sorry, Snuggles. Go get the toy!" He said as he threw the feathery ball onto the sofa. The cat playfully dove after it but was quickly scared out of her fur. The annoying sound of his oven buzzer going off alerted him that his tuna casserole was done and managed to scare his playmate away and into the bedroom. Quickly getting up off the floor, he grabbed his oven mitt from the counter-top and retrieved his heated dinner.

"How come every time I cook something, it doesn't look _anything_ like the picture on the damn box!" Brandon said while looking at the meal from the oven. He was sure it tasted fine, but it didn't look like what it was supposed to.

After letting it cool for a few minutes, he pushed a serving onto his plate and put the rest in his fridge. It wasn't the healthiest thing in the world, but he had always been diligent in his workouts, he felt as if he could have his cheat meal every so often, a very cheesy tuna casserole cheat meal. Digging in, he was elated that the food actually tasted good. "Looks like ass, but it tastes great." He said to himself.

* * *

"Can you hear me, Goliath?" Elisa said as she spoke through the two-way communication system that her and Goliath always wore while out together.

"Yes, Elisa. Is everything alright?"

"It's fine. I just got up to the apartment. Are you on the building across the street?"

"I am. If anything happens I can be there quickly."

Elisa, being the careful police officer she always was, just wanted to make sure she had backup in case this encounter went south. She pulled her badge from her red jacket and knocked on the apartment door. A few short seconds later, the door opened as Brandon stood there wiping his hands with a cloth.

"Yes? What can I do for you?"

"Hi. I am Detective Elisa Maza of the NYPD and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?" She said as she flashed her shiny badge for him.

Brandon looked at her badge carefully, then back to Elisa. "I don't mind answering any questions. What is this about?"

"Well, this might seem like a strange question but you wouldn't happen to know any gargoyles, would you?" She very bluntly asked.

"Gargoyles? You mean the things from the television?" Brandon, giving a confused smirk, asked before continuing. "I can't say that I know any personally, but I certainly have seen one or two out at night. Scary looking things."

Elisa, knowing that that was a lie, further questioned him. "Look... Mr. Brown, I know who you are and I know more than you think. I know about Demona, so why don't you cut the bullshit and explain to me how an ex-Special Forces guy like yourself has been hanging around with a very dangerous gargoyle?"

Brandon was caught a bit off guard by her obvious knowledge of the facts. "Well, it's obvious that you know a great deal and have me at a disadvantage, detective. Umm, please come in, if you would like."

Accepting the offer, Elisa walked into the apartment and quickly got a lay of the land as any good cop would do. "You have a pretty nice place here, Mr. Brown." She said, looking around for any visible weapons or anything out of place. Normally, that line of having a pretty nice place was just that, a line, but his apartment was actually very well kept. The artwork around the walls was very pleasing to the eye.

"Thanks." Brandon said as he carefully watched Elisa, knowing exactly what she was doing. He just smiled to himself. "Looking for anything suspicious, I'm sure. I keep a holstered Beretta under my kitchen table and the rest of my old firearms are locked up in a gun vault in my closet."

She turned and saw his knowing smile. "Just being cautious, you know. And I assume you have all your paperwork for the guns?"

"You know I do, detective. You know who I was, so you know the paperwork comes with the job. Please, have a seat if you'd like." Brandon said as he motioned towards the living room chair and sofa. "So, you are obviously aware that I know of Demona, but what is it to you exactly?"

Taking a seat on the over-sized chair, Elisa turned to face Brandon as he sat across from her on his sofa. "Let's just say that I have had a few encounters with her before."

"Oh? Which Demona are you referring to? The human one or the gargoyle?" Brandon asked.

"You know about her human form? I didn't think that was something she made very public."

Laughing at the comment, thinking of how he found out as he gave Elisa a very shortened version. "Well, honestly, it was accidental. She lost track of time was all."

"Hmm... Anyway, she has tried to kill me, among other people, on several occasions in both forms, so you can understand why I am curious to know what she is doing with you. Demona has a long history of carrying out plan after plan to destroy humanity."

"I do understand your concern and I appreciate it, but she hasn't tried to kill me, nor shown any signs of wanting to in the future."

"Why don't you tell me how you two met, then?" Elisa leaned back into the seat, crossing her legs, but still very alert just in case.

"Pretty simple, really. She was hiding on my balcony from those Quarrymen people. I heard a noise and checked it out. To my surprise, I discovered her out there cold and wet. After she spoke and told me she was hiding, since I harbor no ill will towards her or any other gargoyles, I let her inside to dry off and hide."

"Okay, but what about last night? She was seen gliding away from the Brooklyn Bridge with you and back here."

Brandon raised an eyebrow at that last comment. "How exactly did you know about that? Did you see us?"

"I have friends that know Demona and saw you two gliding around together."

"Friends? More gargoyles?" Brandon said looking slightly annoyed.

"As a matter of fact, it was a gargoyle. She followed you two back here. You mind telling me about the little romance she witnessed?"

"That isn't for you or anyone else to be concerned over! What I do or what she does is our business."**  
**

Standing up, Brandon motioned to the door. "I'm sorry, but I have entertained your questions for long enough. Now, if you would please leave, I would greatly appreciate it."

Getting up to be on equal footing with him, Elisa continued. "I don't care about the kiss thing, but you should know that Demona is notoriously manipulative. She has ways to get you to do things, to get in your head!"

"Look... from what I've seen, she hasn't tried to manipulate me or get me to do anything. In fact, she has been nothing but nice to me ever since we first met!"

Seeing this was going nowhere fast, Elisa decided it was best to bring in some help. "Would you mind if we stepped outside on the balcony for a minute?"

"What for?" Brandon said, thinking that was an oddly absurd thing to ask at this time.

"I have someone I think you should meet. Someone who has known Demona for a very long time."

"Fine. Whatever." Brandon said, letting out a huff as they both walked over to the balcony doors and slid them open, letting in the cool night air.

As they walked outside, Elisa spoke into a microphone clipped unto her jacket collar. "Goliath, I need you to come over to the balcony for me."

In just a few short moments, a large shadow-like figure was seen coming closer in front of the moonlight.

Landing next to Elisa now stood a rather large and very imposing figure. "This is Goliath." Elisa said introducing Brandon to the gargoyle.

Goliath extended his large taloned hand outward, gesturing to shake hands. Brandon accepted and could feel the power behind the grip.

"You are Brandon, correct?"

"Uhh, yes. I see you are also well informed. So, the detective tells me you've known Demona for some time? Are you one of the clan that was caught in the stone sleep for one thousand years?"

Goliath looks sternly at Brandon before answering. "How did you...?"

"Demona told me. She told me everything that happened, actually." Brandon interrupted.

Goliath and Elisa gave a puzzled look to each other for a moment. "I'm sure she didn't tell you everything." Elisa informed.

"She told me enough. About the Guard Captain who betrayed you and her immortality. I also know she speaks Latin and can use magic."

"Did she tell you that she was also the betrayer along with the Captain!?" Goliath angrily said, trying to keep from attracting too much attention in case there were Quarrymen around. "She was the reason we slumbered for one thousand years."

"What about the fact that she turned everyone in Manhattan to stone for two nights and almost killed everyone?" Elisa added. Seeing the look on his face, she knew that he didn't know about that little incident. "She has constantly tried to destroy humans for as long as I have known her. Don't be a fool, Brandon. She is most likely finding a way to use you to do her dirty work! Who else would be better then an ex-Special Forces member!?"

"That's enough!" Brandon shouted, finally fed up with the lecture in why Demona was so bad about should be avoided. "You say she is an awful person, but she has shown me nothing but kindness. In fact, she has gone out of her way to help me on several occasions."

"Of course she has." The large gargoyle said, speaking low in his throat. "She is an expert at playing games with people."

"No! She wasn't playing games when she listened to the story of _my _past, nor did she have to explain hers! I have sat down with her and talked with her, and part of my job was knowing when someone was full of shit or not, so I think I have a pretty god-damn good idea that she isn't playing a game! I get the fact that she has done some bad things, and, yes, nearly killing everyone in Manhattan tops a few lists, but if you had lived her life, could you say you would be different? Is it a fact or not that she has been alone for almost ten centuries? Yes or no?! Fact or not?!"

"She has been mostly alone, yes, but that doesn't excuse..."

"No!" Brandon said, quickly cutting Goliath off. "Can you tell me, without a doubt, that if either one of you were alone for that long, you know how you would turn out? You know for sure what you would do? And if you tell me you know, you're full of it! Nobody knows what events will transpire from one day to the next and being alone for that long can play hell with someone's emotions. Sure... you can assume you know what will happen. You can assume that you won't turn out bad, or do bad things, but you know what they say about assumptions, right? They are the mother of all fuck ups! When I was a kid, I assumed I would become a cowboy astronaut, but look how my life turned out. I am a legal bringer of death! And even then, it's all relative to what side you're fighting for. Sure, to the United States I am the good guy, but when I was out fighting in Bosnia, I was the enemy and the Serbs were the good guys according to them. It's all relative and for Demona, she is on her own side and has been for so long! Maybe all she needed was someone to talk to, to listen, to understand where she was coming from. I believe in second chances and maybe I can give her that second chance. Who's to say I can't? You? Or you!?"

''We should go Elisa..." The gargoyle rested his hand on the detective's shoulder.

"But Goliath!"

"No. It is obvious this conversation will not be productive. Come, let us go. I am... sorry to have bothered you this evening." Goliath said to Brandon.

Still looking highly annoyed, Brandon stiffly nodded. "Don't worry about it. Just know that I am not a fool. I can most certainly take care of myself, but also know that Demona might not be as bad as you think anymore."

Goliath turned and picked up Elisa before jumping off and gliding between two nearby buildings before disappearing from Brandon's sight.

* * *

As soon as Elisa and Goliath left his view, Brandon turned round to walk back into his apartment when he heard a heavy thud from behind him. "Oh, what the fuck now?!" Turning, he was quite surprised to see Demona standing on the balcony before him. "Demona! Sorry, I didn't think it was you."

"I saw you with Elisa and Goliath. " Demona sadly said, her wings drooping to the floor.

"Yes, they were asking me all thes.."

"I also heard..." She quickly said, cutting him off. "I was on my way over when I saw the three of you on your balcony, so I quietly landed on the roof above and listened in." Brandon noticed that Demona had quite a melancholic look about her and was about to ask her inside when she voiced the question first. "Can we go inside?"

Lightly nodding, Brandon let Demona inside before shutting the glass door behind him. Turning, he saw that Demona had already taken a seat on his sofa, so he walked over and sat down next to her, still keeping his gaze on her face. "What's wrong, Demona?"

She slowly looked up at Brandon and locked her eyes with his. "Did you mean everything you said to them?"

"I meant everything that I said, though, I must admit, when you said you had done some bad things, I didn't exactly know the severity but... as I said I don't know what I would have done if I had been in your place. They certainly don't either. You know that I won't judge you because of it."

"No one has ever defended me like that before. Nobody has taken the time that you have given me to understand... me..."

Deciding that now was the time to act, she let go of any inhibition she had. She leaned into Brandon, gently taking a hold of his shirt with her talons to pull him close as she pressed her soft ruby lips to his. Naturally, Brandon inched his arms around her waist and hips, responding to the kiss with his tongue. Before he could react any further, Demona had gotten up from her seat with her eyes now filled with exuberance, locked deeply with his. She took his hand in hers as she pulled him up off of the sofa, their lips met once again as Brandon rested his free hand on the small of her back to bring her tighter to him, the lust he held for Demona finally starting to become released.

Demona, breaking the passionate embrace, whispered, almost purring into his right ear. "Come, my love..." She, then, pulled him by his hand down the hall towards his bedroom, turning to look behind her every other second with a genuine smile lighting her beautiful face, one that Brandon would love to see over again. He darted ahead of her once they passed the bedroom door, studying her wonderful smile as her eyes looked over him until she leaned forward again to kiss him. He wraped his arms around her waist, picking her up off the ground, delving deeper into their heated kiss as he walked backwards to the bed. Demona pulled up from the embrace as she glanced at the bed for a breath's moment before sliding down and out of his grasp with a mischievous smirk playing upon her lips.

Pushing him onto the bed, the seductive look that she was giving Brandon at that moment was enough to let him know exactly what she had in store for him this night. As Brandon inched his way up to the pillows, Demona crawled onto his bed like a cat stalking it's prey, her eyes softly glowing red in the pleasant dark. Behind her, her wings were tucked into her back and her tail obviously quivering with the pleasure coursing through her body. Now over him, she straddled his waist with her legs and bent forward to kiss him again. Not being one to miss a beat, Brandon slid his hand back and through her crimson hair as their lips once again locked. As one kiss ended and another began, the once contained lust between the two steadily grew. As their kisses deepened, their tongues swirled around one another, wordlessly fighting for the upper hand. Sliding her hands under the bottom of his shirt, Demona sat up as she pulled the fabric upwards and over his head to expose his finely developed torso, flexing ever so gently with his bated breathing. Blindly throwing the shirt over her shoulder, she placed her hands on his chest to gently run them over his prominent muscles and down his abdomen, taking her time to feel and enjoy all of the ripples and dips separating each muscle under the warm flesh.

Leaning down for another kiss, Demona felt his hands run up along her back and under her top. Sliding his hands from around her back, Brandon cupped her firm breasts in his palms. A small groan slipped out of her mouth as she felt the warmth emanating from his hands ever so gently massaging her chest, her hips slowly twisting against Brandon's lower stomach pulling a low groan from him as well. He moved to sit up, bringing his lips to where his hands teased and caressed, small perky nubs clearly showing through the fabric of her top begging him to kiss and suckle them. Short hisses of lust escaped her throat just from this different adoration upon her body. Not knowing what to do, but loving the feeling of her rising want, she lightly ran her talons along his back and shoulders up to his neck and hair and back down again feeling him respond to her touch with a slight arching of his back or flexing of his muscles.

Unnoticed by her, one of his hands had slipped from her breasts to trail along her taut stomach, over her belt, and played with the skin on her thighs so tantalizingly close to her wanting warmth. Brandon pulled his lips from her bosom to look up at the most wonderful woman in the world with her eyes half-closed and her mouth slightly open. He swept his other hand to her neck, pulling her into another heated kiss as one of his fingers upon her thigh delved into the moist warmth of her sex, his other fingers twisting themselves into the red curls he remembered seeing the other night.

Demona cried out around his lips in a surprised wave of delight, her hips already pushing against the daring digit within her until she pushed him back down on the bed, though his fingers still stroked the soft, wet center of her being that drove her insane with lust. Unable to hold back, several moans tore through her while she grabbed both of his hands and pulled them up to his head.

"Keep them there." Demona whispered. "I want to try something."

Brandon complied, nodding just enough to let her know that he'll stay his hands for the time being. Demona had always been curious of some human rituals when it came to sex. Her hands did away with the belt on his person as she recalled that time she spied on several humans during sex. For the most part, it was similar to how gargoyles mate, but there have been some differences that Demona wanted to try right now. During her thinking, she had pulled off Brandon's pants and started to don away his boxers. Once the clothes had been tossed behind her, she stared at the quivering limb erect in front of her, marveling at the size differences between humans and gargoyles. Glancing up at the quiet man laying before her to see that, wordlessly, he told her to not be shy nor scared. He could somehow tell that his lover was anxious. Looking back at his member, she lightly trailed a single talon along the shaft, stopping just below the shell of the tip. It was his soft moan that dared her to do more. She placed a gentle kiss upon the crown with her ears meeting a louder groan.

Suddenly, she took in just the tip in her mouth and popped it out releasing a glorious sound from him that she wanted to hear again. Being mindful of her fangs, she took him in and pulled him out again, each time, taking in a bit more until she had engulfed most of his member in the warm recess of her mouth. His hands flew to her hair as a long groan hissed out passed his teeth.

"Oh... Demona, please..." His hands helped guide her motions up and down at a pace that Brandon felt was slow enough for Demona to get her bearings yet fast enough to pleasure him. After a few moments, she took the lead, adding her hand to the lower part of his shaft and moving along with her full mouth. As she came up to the tip, she gave a quick flick of her tongue just to hear her lover moan. She took a moment to work him just with her hand so that she could look at Brandon's face twisted in pleasure. He took the opportunity to reach out and grasp her beautiful mounds, lightly pulling at the firm nubs peeking through her top. Racked with a sudden pang of lust, she took him back into her mouth with a heated passion, still being careful with her fangs, listening to him gasp out that he's so close.

Then, his hands flew back to her hair as he moaned in short loud bursts as his filled her mouth with his load. With her lips still around his member, she could feel the muscles spasm and twitch as he reached the rise and fall of his climax. As she came up when she felt that he was done, she inadvertently swallowed all that was in her mouth, grimacing at the bitter taste, but also taking note that the stiffness had all but gone yet the lust was still in Brandon's eyes.

"Demona... that was purely wonderful, but I feel that it needs to be your turn." Brandon softly breathed as he moved off of the bed.

Questions flared in her mind at first until she remembered that oral sex could also be for females, but something about that made Demona shy, which she realized was very uncharacteristic of her.

"Come on, love. Move yourself right here." He said, pointing to the edge of the bed. She complied, sitting with her legs around his as she could see that his member was slowly, but surely, growing again. He placed a hand upon her shoulder and pushed her unto the mattress, taking his other hand to unbuckle Demona's belt and take a hold of both her halter-top and loin cloth to slide them down her long legs, past her feet, and off the bed. There, laid out before him, was a very beautiful woman, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, ready and willing for him. Running his hands along her thighs, he could feel the muscles within her tense up as he got closer to his goal.

"You're gorgeous, you know?" He said as he crawled up to kiss her delectably red lips. Slowly, he planted soft kisses from her lips down her jaw line to her neck all the while sliding his right hand slowly up her thigh until his fingers met with the inviting curly hairs hiding her sex.

What was to come Demona had never experienced before, she had only read about such pleasures or seen them when she occasionally spied on human couples, but none of them had fully prepared her for this. She let out a gasp as Brandon parted her legs and began to introduce her to her first oral pleasure.

"Oh, that's amazing!" Demona cried out as his tongue caressed her most intimate flesh. His warm breath both soothed and inflamed her very core, her breaths became shortened and ragged as her button was pushed in such a sensual way. Very soon, she felt a surge of tightening pleasure followed by a release, but his tongue continued its work. He felt excess fluids drip around his mouth, sticking to her beautiful red curls and decided to push in a finger. He coated it with her juice as he focused on her swollen nub and entered her, bit by bit. One of her hands clung unto his hair as the other wound itself in the tangled sheets, her talons running across his head and twirled around dark locks, her voice lost in a din of moaning and uneven breaths. Brandon added another finger into her depths, pounding his hand into her while teasing and testing the sensitive flesh of her thighs and abdomen with his other hand.

Demona tried to speak, but Brandon won't have any of that. He left his spot to kiss her and squeeze her flushed breasts, still furiously hammering into her center. Her tail wrapped tightly around one of his legs, the tip ever so lightly touching the awaking member just as he found a spot that sent the both of them moaning into each others' mouths, their lust taking a higher level than ever before. Under him, he can feel her writhing body slowly tense with an oncoming orgasm. He pulled up and away from her lips to watch as she gained yet another release, her face so heavenly free of the outside world and her tail tightening its grip on him sending him well on the path to pleasure. With his free hand, he picked up a stray red hair from his tongue and smiled as Demona quickly recoverd from her cloud, ready for more than simple teasing from playful fingers.

"Please, Brandon..." Demona huskily whispered, her tail stroking his now throbbing member.

Brandon groaned in reply. "I agree. We've put this off long enough." He pulled himself over his blue-skinned lover and positioned his wanting limb over her beckoning cavern. "Tell me, Demona..." He whispered over her lips. "Who is it that you want?"

Her legs pull themselves around his hips and waist while her tail trapped one of his legs in a snake-like vice. "You, my love..." Her hands brought his head to hers, their lips crashed together in a moment of raw lust. Taking his cue, Brandon slid right into her, marveling at the warmth and pulsation of Demona's sweet walls. Demona, on the other hand, had reached the gargoyles equivalent to cloud nine, only glad to have such tension fall from her body with one swift move from her lover. Tightening her legs' around him, she drew him farther into her to feel so blissfully full and complete until Brandon gave out a breathy laugh.

"You'll have to relax, love." Brandon whispers to her, trying his hardest not to disrupt the moment.

Demona, a blush curling up on her already flushed cheeks, loosens her hold, but continued to keep him close to her. He began to pull out, his hands busying themselves upon her breasts, and slammed right back in, loving her growling moan. He did it again, just to hear her silently beg for more, but he could only hold back for so long. He quickened his pace of pounding while he kissed her still ruby yet swollen lips every now and then, suckled her perky breasts, and joined her in a duet of their own music. Demona's hands and talons constantly found themselves holding back from clawing at Brandon's skin yet twining into his hair to keep his lips locked on hers as she glided up and down on orgasm after orgasm.

So lost into their combined dance of the ages, Brandon suddenly felt the build-up of his own release as he unconsciously picked up his pace faster than he ever could have with a human girl, their long moans both shortening and turned into gasps for more. Words could no longer form upon either of their mouths as one last push into her soaked center sent both bodies into a single climb to the heavens and a gentle fall bringing to end one eventful night.

Abruptly, exhaustion overcame Brandon as he fell over to one side, catching a much needed breath. Demona, feeling better then she ever had before, curled up next to him to give him one more kiss of the night. Pure bliss described the scene as they laid silently together. Beads of sweat cooled on their bodies as Demona's head rested on Brandon's chest, their legs entwined, both contentedly exhausted from their extravagant sexual escapades. With a reassuring squeeze from Demona, Brandon knew that she would stay with him as they both drifted off to sleep together in the dead of warm night.


End file.
